C2002/5059, Transcript of Proceedings [2002] AIRCTrans 5163 (20 December 2002)

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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

O/N

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

JUSTICE MUNRO

C2002/5059 and
C Nos 00653 of 1998, 01523 of 1984
32396 of 1995, 33222 of 1995, 34146 of 1995,
38344 of 1995, 30264 of 1995, 39477 of 1995,
10726 of 1995, 38610 of 1995, 39218 of 1995,
39219 of 1995, 10198 of 1995, 30335 of 1996,
31094 of 1996, 32663 of 1996, 32074 of 1996
and 33241 of 1990

APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 33

ACTION ON THE COMMISSION'S OWN MOTION
REGARDING RESPONDENCY TO THE RUBBER
PLASTIC AND CABLE MAKING INDUSTRY
- GENERAL - AWARD 1998

SYDNEY

11.52 AM, MONDAY, 9 DECEMBER 2002

PN1

HIS HONOUR: This is matter C5059 of 2002, it is a matter instituted on the Commission's own motion under section 33 of the Act on 17 October 2002. It concerns the Rubber, Plastic and Cable Making Industry General Award 1998 and the integration or consolidation into that award the respondency list to various roping-in awards made prior to the simplification of the Rubber, Plastic and Cable Making Industry Award under Item 1 of the WROLA Act transitional provisions. I won't go into greater detail at this stage but could I have appearances, please?

PN2

MR T. KENNEDY: I appear on behalf of the National Union of Workers.

PN3

HIS HONOUR: Yes. I think you are it, aren't you, Mr Kennedy?

PN4

MR KENNEDY: I am the only one here, your Honour.

PN5

HIS HONOUR: Yes.

PN6

MR KENNEDY: Your Honour, I apologise, I absent-mindedly forgot about the VA conference and as a result I bought with me a written table of the union's investigations about these companies. What I could undertake to do is to email or by facsimile send that table to your Honour today but in summary the union has identified a number of companies which we believe no longer exist and which we would not oppose being removed from the - well, would not oppose being incorporated into the respondency list of the award and I might deal with those first.

PN7

HIS HONOUR: Right.

PN8

MR KENNEDY: Those companies are Low Pack, South Australia Pty Limited; the advice we have from our South Australian branch is that they no longer exist; Automated Plastics Pty Limited; and then further down the list, Peninsula Recycles no longer exist to our knowledge; Spaforce, - S-p-a-force - Spaforce to our knowledge no longer exist; as too does Tux Industries Pty Limited and also Vision Cables Pty Limited; that was a company that formed out of Olex Cables a number of years ago to provide roll out for cable television. It ceased operating a number of years ago.

PN9

Atom Helmets Pty Limited, we have no record of its continued existence, and also Tex Sheet, we have no record of its continued existence and also Rubbermade Australia Pty Limited, we believe that actually was a company that came out of Ausplay and it actually is now known a Omnitech Pty Limited but I will come back to Ausplay, so Rubbermade, as far as we are concerned no longer exists. Polyastro, a division of Bordon Australia Pty Limited, that operations ceased to exist and it was - before it ceased to exist it was taken over by AEP Industries but it closed those operations and AEP operates out of a different site now so it no longer exists and only one other one, Colour Master Pty Limited, we have no record of its current existence.

PN10

If I could refer also to the Australian industry Group correspondence of 28 November from Terry Burke. Hectechs was taken over by Seeva Specialty Chemicals and the company, Seeva Speciality Chemicals Pty Limited at 235 Settlement Road, Thomastown as advised by AIG and the union has a certified agreement with that company at that site. The same for Frontier Industry Pty Limited as advised by AIG Group, or AI Group, and Travelon Trimmings Pty Limited, they are the correct addresses according to the English records as well.

PN11

Your Honour, in respect to the responses that you received, apart from Seeva Speciality Chemicals the Point of Sale Manufacturing Pty Limited Company that it asserts - that is governed by the manufacturing Industry Award I am assuming that that award that they are referring to that is in fact a minimum wage order of the Victorian system.

PN12

HIS HONOUR: It is.

PN13

MR KENNEDY: And we would simply say that that company was roped in at the address, I might add, but the Rubber, Plastic and Cable Making Industry Award would set the minimum terms and conditions still at that site. We would also add that with respect to Foster Plastics Industries Pty Limited the fact that the company has also consented to be roped into the Metal Engineering and Associated Industries Award, it appears this year, they have been named respondent in the Rubber Award for some time and in respect to the classifications held by the Rubber Award we still say that is relevant for Foster Plastics and Columbia Consolidated, in actual fact Columbia Consolidated Industries Pty Limited, and the address that we have on our records is actually 2-4 Phillip Street, Cheltenham but - - -

PN14

HIS HONOUR: Twenty-four?

PN15

MR KENNEDY: No, 2-4 it takes up two blocks.

PN16

HIS HONOUR: Okay, I see.

PN17

MR KENNEDY: Yes, so therefore - - -

PN18

HIS HONOUR: 204 Phillip Street?

PN19

MR KENNEDY: Yes.

PN20

HIS HONOUR: P-h - - -

PN21

MR KENNEDY: Cheltenham.

PN22

HIS HONOUR: How do you spell that Phillip, P-h-i-l-l-i-p?

PN23

MR KENNEDY: That is right, that is right, yes.

PN24

HIS HONOUR: Street, and then Cheltenham?

PN25

MR KENNEDY: Cheltenham, Victoria, 3192.

PN26

HIS HONOUR: Yes.

PN27

MR KENNEDY: In respect of all the other companies we have undertaken an exercise and identified the actual addresses at the moment and also if there has been any change of name. If it is of use I can red through those so you can tick them off or would you prefer the - - -

PN28

HIS HONOUR: I think it would be useful if you did read through them, Mr Kennedy, I will arrange for you to send it on but at least this then goes on to record, yes.

PN29

MR KENNEDY: Okay. Well, starting from the top, Cablex Pty Limited resides at 236-262 East Boundary Bentleigh East, Victoria, 3165; Motorway Tyres Pty Limited resides at 25 Horsham Road, Stawell, Victoria, 3380. Peninsula Recycles I have dealt with. Columbia I have dealt with, frontier Industries I have dealt with. Omni Plastics is in actual fact known as Norcross Limited and it resides at 1132 Nepean Highway, Mornington, Victoria, 3930. Spaforce I have dealt with. Porex Plastics Australia Pty Limited resides at 261 Frankston Dandenong Road, Dandenong, Victoria, 3175; Interpak resides at 2 Advantage Drive, Dandenong, Victoria, 3175; Plastics for Industry Pty Limited resides at unit 13/189 Cheltenham Road, Dandenong, Victoria, 3175; Tux industries, as I said, no longer exist according to our records neither does Vision Cables. Foster Plastics I dealt with.

PN30

Vacupak Plastics Packaging resides at 125 Herald Street, Cheltenham, Victoria, 2192; Advanced Wire and Cable Company Pty Limited recently moved to a new residence and they are now located at 6 Abbotts Road, Dandenong South, Victoria 3175; Triangle Cable Pty Limited resides at 33 Prohasky - P-r-o-h-a-s-k-y Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria; Australian Cable Manufactures in actual fact was the original name of Triangle Cables Pty Limited so we would not oppose Australian Cable Manufactures being removed from the respondency list because they are the same company.

PN31

Olympic Polymer Plastics Pty Limited reside at 10 Haymear Court, Braeside, Victoria; Atom Helmets I have spoken about; Thermal Bay are actually called Thermal Bay composites and they reside at 62 Chambers Road, Altona North, Victoria, 3025; Point of Sale Merchandising we have referred to saying that the minimum wage order Victoria is not relevant, that they have - - -

PN32

HIS HONOUR: What is the address you are looking for there?

PN33

MR KENNEDY: The address is as the one you have in your correspondence, your Honour.

PN34

HIS HONOUR: I see.

PN35

MR KENNEDY: Which is 18-44 Dandenong Road, Clayton, Victoria, 3168. SF Industries Pty Limited resides at 7 Kinder Street, Campbellfield, Victoria, 3061; Texsheet, as I have indicated, we don't believe exists; Vicpac Industries Pty Limited resides at 37 Franklyn Street, that is Franklyn - F-r-a-n-k-l-y-n, Oakleigh, Victoria, 3175; Dex Audio still resides at 393-399 McCauley Road, Kensington, Victoria, 3031; Ozplay is - in actual fact the company name for Ozplay is actually Omnitech - O-m-n-i-t-e-c-h Pty Limited at unit 1, 182-186 Brooks Road, Vermont, Victoria, 3033 and Rubbermade - our understanding is the former name of that company so it no longer exists as I said before.

PN36

Plastic Technology resides at 9-11 Mallua - M-a-l-l-u-a Street, Reservoir, Victoria, 3073. Polyastro, as I said, no longer exists. Disposable Products in actual fact is known as and the spelling is Sarstedt Australia Pty Limited - that is S-a-r-s-t-e-d-t Australia Pty Limited, at 16 - - -

PN37

HIS HONOUR: S-a-r-s-t-e?

PN38

MR KENNEDY: d-t.

PN39

HIS HONOUR: d-t, yes.

PN40

MR KENNEDY: Australia Pty Limited, reside at 16 Park Way, Technology Park, South Australia, 5095. With CC Components, your Honour, they have got two actual sites where they operate from and I haven't worked out which is the main one but they operate - I think it is the first one, actually, this one; 46 Dingley Avenue, Dandenong, Victoria and they also operate out of 41 Horne Street, Campbellfield, Victoria. Dandenong being down in the south-east of Melbourne and Campbellfield in the north. Travelon Trimmings we have spoken about. Plaspack Food Packaging reside at 53-73 Churchill Road in Dry Creek, South Australia, 5094 and Plastic ..... are actually known as Complete Colourcoat Finishings and they reside at 3-5- - -

PN41

HIS HONOUR: How do you spell Colourcoat?

PN42

MR KENNEDY: C-o-l-o-u-r-c-o-a-t. Complete Colourcoat - sorry.

PN43

HIS HONOUR: Complete Colourcoat?

PN44

MR KENNEDY: Finishings.

PN45

HIS HONOUR: P/L?

PN46

MR KENNEDY: Well, I haven't got that detail at this stage.

PN47

HIS HONOUR: Right, that is okay. And then the address?

PN48

MR KENNEDY: Yes, they reside at 3-5 Indama - I-n-d-a-m-a Street, Regency park, South Australia, 5010; Colourmaster Pty Limited, we don't believe they exist any more and Pentex Australia Pty Limited, we believe they can be removed as they now come under the company known as Seeva Speciality Chemicals Pty Limited as we have discussed; Australian Arrow Pty Limited now reside at 65 Latham's Road, Carrum Downs, Victoria, 3201 and that is the extent of the 39 companies, your Honour.

PN49

HIS HONOUR: Mr Kennedy, thank you and whoever your supporters, if it is not entirely you, for a conscientious and thorough effort in relation to these matters, I know it is not easy and it is a relatively tiresome task to have to face up to, nonetheless I think it is important to get these things right every now and again at least and speaking for myself and I would have to say my associate also, a commendable effort on the part of the NUW to bring these up to date.

PN50

I accept what is put to me in that respect and it will cause me to modify the provisional views I had. I ask you to forward by facsimile and I will mark it provisionally as NUW1, the list to which you have referred. We will check out the action that I have in mind to take but most of it is in conformity with the view that you have put to us. I think we were, in relation to AIGs responses, moving to include Seeva Speciality Chemicals at an address which I won't read out; Travelon Trimmings and Frontier Industries.

PN51

We were to remove Vision Cables and to add Plaspack Food packaging to the award list; Point of Sale Merchandising at the address 18-44 Dandenong Road, I note their assertion that their conditions are governed by the manufacturing industry Award AW789236 which I think my associate has established as a Victorian minimum rates award and that doesn't appear to me to answer the point that there may be still people bound by the original classifications of The Rubber, Plastic and Cable Making Award so we will retain that as a respondent to the parent award.

PN52

Foster Plastics, again much the same sort of point arises and particularly on the representation of the NUW that will be retained. Columbia Consolidated Industries, I am just going back to what you raised. I think you have given us an address for that and - that is right, 2 Phillips Street, Cheltenham. Mr Steven King, Human Resources Manager indicated the company would be contacting its industry body. In fact we haven't heard anything about them but at least they are alive and well so they can continue to be, and Plaspack Food Packaging I think I might have already covered, consents to respondency to - or ABL on behalf of Plaspack consents to respondency to the parent award in relation to this address and won't be entering an appearance so what I will have in mind, and I won't repeat here because I think it is unnecessary detail, is effectively the history.

PN53

We couldn't locate some of the companies in response to notification that those by and large I think will - and I notice several of them do coincide with the list for which Mr Kennedy has indicated the NUW records are inconsistent with any continued operation. Those we will delete where there is effectively agreement that they be deleted. Those which we have current addresses we will insert into the parent award. When that is done more or less simultaneously there will be a deletion of - sorry, a setting aside of the relevant roping-in awards. All of that will be done over the next week but I will, when we have got the paper work, send a copy of the fax off to you, Mr Kennedy.

PN54

You don't need to respond to it but it will give you the opportunity to have a look at it in case there might have been a slip up and as I have already said, I appreciate the effort that has been put into it by the NUW. It makes my task a good deal easier. This is a bit of a rabbit warren of an award. When I say it makes my task a good deal easier my associates have both been engaged conscientiously on this and they have done the hard work, I just sit here, but I have to make sense out of what they have produced and what you have done substantially adds to the feeling that we have got confidently a reasonably up-to-date set of names of parties for this purpose. Very well, on that basis you will send a fax to us. Have you got our number 93613852?

PN55

MR KENNEDY: Yes, we do, your Honour, and we will do that as soon as I return to the office and thank you for your assistance. It is a good exercise that the unions undertake and to know where everything is up to with our company who people represent.

PN56

HIS HONOUR: Yes. It may save anguish later down the line, of course, but very few people think in terms of that these days. The Commission will adjourn.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [12.12pm]