C2003/3722, Transcript of Proceedings [2003] AIRCTrans 2182 (6 June 2003)

AUSCRIPT PTY LTD
ABN 76 082 664 220

Level 4, 179 Queen St MELBOURNE Vic 3000
(GPO Box 1114 MELBOURNE Vic 3001)
DX 305 Melbourne Tel:[phone] Fax:[phone]

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS


O/N 2758

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT ACTON

C2003/3722

APPLICATION FOR AN ORDER TO STOP OR
PREVENT INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Application under section 127(2) of the Act
by Stramit Corporation Limited for an order
to stop or prevent industrial action re
proposed certified agreements

MELBOURNE

2.04 PM, WEDNESDAY, 21 MAY 2003

Continued from 20.5.03 in Sydney

PN217

MS L. RUSSELL: I seek leave to appear for Stramit Industries Limited.

PN218

MR M. ADDISON: I appear on behalf of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union together with MR L. MULDURAY, MR S. BENNETT and the shop stewards and members from the site. Your Honour, I understand that the idea up-front is to deal with some administrative issues and on that basis I reserve my rights pursuant to section 42 of the Act. If the Commission pleases.

PN219

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Ms Russell?

PN220

MS RUSSELL: Yes, your Honour. Your Honour, I understand this application was before Munro J yesterday. I did not appear in the matter yesterday and I also understand that Mr Addison did not and we thought we might try and - - -

PN221

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: And neither did I.

PN222

MS RUSSELL: And certainly you were not there, your Honour, so what we thought we might try and do up-front, if it suite your Honour, just to try and see where we might to today. Your Honour, have you been provided - I understand there was material handed up yesterday by way of exhibit. Have you been provided with any of that material?

PN223

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I will tell you what I have got.

PN224

MS RUSSELL: Okay.

PN225

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I have got AIG1, which appears to be an order of Senior Commissioner Beach, AIG2, which is several notices of intended industrial action and that is it. I have got the listings and I have got the application.

PN226

MS RUSSELL: Right, okay, all right, your Honour. I don't know whether Mr Addison has those exhibits, I don't, but depending where we get to, we could probably deal with that matter. Your Honour, I understand also that there has been an application filed under section 166A and that that has been served on the union and that that was foreshadowed yesterday and there did seem to be, on my instructions, some suggestion that your Honour might end up with that matter. I don't know whether you are aware of it or whether it has been allocated to you.

PN227

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I am not aware of it and I have not been allocated it.

PN228

MS RUSSELL: Yes, okay, your Honour, I should also, which I should have done first of all, apologise for the delay in starting this afternoon. One of the Stramit representatives needed to come from Sydney, and as you will be aware, this application concerns industrial action, both in New South Wales,and also industrial action in Victoria. And, unfortunately, with the vagaries of planes and everything else Mr Robinson has only just arrived, so I apologise for the delay in starting this afternoon. Your Honour, just going back to the administrative issue, I am assuming, given that you don't have - other than those two exhibits that you referred to - you don't have any knowledge of the evidence that was lead, or anything else yesterday. But, in effect, we are starting again in terms of pursuing this application.

PN229

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, well, I don't have any transcript of yesterday's proceedings.

PN230

MS RUSSELL: Yes. That has been the assumption that I have been working on, your Honour. Your Honour, I do need to get some instructions from Mr Robinson which I have not been able to get because I have only recently been briefed in this matter. So, unfortunately, I am going to have to seek your indulgence again, but this time, for a fairly short adjournment, probably of about 10 minutes, just so that I can speak to him and understand what the position is in New South Wales.

PN231

That will also give me an opportunity to be able to also discuss with him what the company's position is to conciliation. I have already had a discussion with Mr Addison about that. So, your Honour, if I could have 10 or 15 minutes, that would be greatly appreciated.

PN232

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes, thank you, I will just hear from Mr Addison about whether he has any views.

PN233

MR ADDISON: Your Honour, I don't have the AIG1. I probably have AIG2 if it is the various notifications of industrial action. They were the notifications for last Friday, is that correct?

PN234

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Look, I am happy to let you have a look at the file during the course of an adjournment, if there is one.

PN235

MR ADDISON: Well, I will have them if they - - -

PN236

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: But insofar as I have got the file.

PN237

MR ADDISON: Yes.

PN238

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: But, yes, they are notices dated last Friday and there is one in respect of Smithfield, one in respect of Cardiff, one in respect of Wetherill Park, it looks like another one in respect of Smithfield, one in respect of - it is a generalised one, it seems to me and another one which refers to Mulgrave, Kilsyth and Preston.

PN239

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Right, well, I certainly have the Mulgrave, Kilsyth and Preston document. As Ms Russell has said, I am as equally in the dark as anybody this afternoon, I think we are all equally briefed. I have no instructions with regard to the New South Wales matters at this point in time but I will seek to get them in that short adjournment that Ms Russell has suggested. I have no difficulty with the adjournment. I have suggested to Ms Russell, that, given that there is a 127 application and a 166A application - and I can confirm, it has been served on the AMWU - I got a phone call about three minutes to one with regard to that.

PN240

I have not seen the document but it is in our office so I can confirm that. And given the 166A requires some conciliation and also it is fairly standard for some conciliation on a 127, that we may be better engaged in trying to resolve this dispute rather than formally pursue an order and that, of course, is entirely in Ms Russell's hands. But, certainly, that would be my preference this afternoon to get some discussions going to see if we can resolve the matters. With that said, I am happy to take a short adjournment and then come back in conference.

PN241

If Ms Russell wishes to pursue formal proceedings then I would certainly be putting a proposition to you, your Honour, that Ms Russell should not be allowed to appear. If the Commission pleases.

PN242

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: All right, well, I will adjourn for 10 minutes.

SHORT ADJOURNMENT [2.11pm]

RESUMED [2.37pm]

PN243

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Ms Russell?

PN244

MS RUSSELL: Thank you very much for that adjournment. I understand from your associate that your Honour has now been allocated the application under section 166A.

PN245

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I have.

PN246

MS RUSSELL: I have had some discussions with my client and also with Mr Addison and it is the company's position that we believe the most expeditious way for these matters to be dealt with would be - for them to be joined. They essentially arise out of the same factual situation and if we do get to a situation of dealing with the matters in a hearing then the evidence that we would be calling would really traverse both matters and it would be the same witnesses. On that basis, your Honour, it would also seem to us appropriate that the first step should be conciliation in respect of both applications.

PN247

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Mr Addison?

PN248

MR ADDISON: Yes, thanks, your Honour. Your Honour during the adjournment I had the opportunity to speak to Mr Stuart who is co-ordinating the Stramit matters for AMWU nationally. I am instructed that there is industrial action at a plant - which I don't know that you mentioned - Wetherill Park. The action occurring at Wetherill Park is protected industrial action and consists of overtime bans at this point time. I am further instructed that notices were served on Stramit on Monday for stoppages in both New South Wales and Victoria, so, once again, there would be protected industrial action.

PN249

So I can confirm that industrial action is occurring in New South Wales but it is protected. There is no industrial action currently occurring in Victoria but notices have been issued to the company with regard to a further 24 hour stoppage on Friday at Preston, Kilsyth and Mulgrave followed by rolling stoppages and overtime bans. So, I can confirm that that is the state of play. With regard to the question of joinder I would reserve my right with regard to that at this point in time. I just don't - I think I understand what Ms Russell is saying, but, clearly, there is a window of time in front of us to deal with the 166A to try and resolve that matter.

PN250

And if Ms Russell wants to pursue the 127 at any point prior to that window being complete, I guess, she is at liberty to do that, but the AMWU does agree that we need to go into conference to see if we can resolve the matters. If the Commission pleases.

PN251

MS RUSSELL: Your Honour, I should just put on the record that the company position is that there is industrial action occurring in Victoria and it is Kilsyth, Mulgrave and Preston sites. Obviously, your Honour, when the applications are dealt with in a formal sense, by way of hearing, if that occurs, then the issue of what industrial action is occurring will be part of the evidence that will be put before you.

PN252

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I will adjourn into conference.

SHORT ADJOURNMENT [2.40pm]

RESUMED [4.26pm]

PN253

THE SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I have been having discussions in conference with the parties in respect of two matters, a section 127 application and an application pursuant to section 166A of the Act for the purpose of furthering those discussions at 10 am tomorrow, 22 May 2003. I direct the AMWU to have their organiser responsible for negotiations at the Bayswater site of Stramit attend the conciliation conference tomorrow, and I direct the company to have a person familiar with the negotiations for an enterprise agreement at the Bayswater site of Stramit, at the conciliation conference for 10 am tomorrow. That does not preclude others from attending that conciliation conference. I now adjourn until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning here in Melbourne.

ADJOURNED UNTIL THURSDAY, 22 MAY 2003 [4.27pm]