C2005/5042, Transcript of Proceedings [2005] AIRCTrans 2272 (3 November 2005)

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

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Workplace Relations Act 1996 13217-1

COMMISSIONER SIMMONDS

C2005/5042

THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION
AND
DOWNER ENGINEERING POWER PTY LTD
s.99 - Notification of an industrial dispute
(C2005/5042)

MELBOURNE

11.10AM, WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2005
EXTRACT OF TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

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<EXTRACT OF TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS [11.10AM]

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PN1

THE COMMISSIONER: (Audio malfunction) ..... and if applied legally all employees of Downer are entitled to cherry pick the two agreements, which is not a very satisfactory situation to be in, and I think some attention needs to be paid to that. My view is that the claim that is being made by Mr Wood on behalf of the AWU is probably legally correct, but I'm not prepared to pick it up. And the reason I'm not prepared to pick it up is because (a) according to the company there has been an agreement at the work site that the conditions of employment set out in the Downer Engineering Labour Hire Construction Agreement 2003-2006 are to be the conditions to apply, and I think that understanding is not one that should be lightly walked away from.

PN2

The second reason is that if I was to give support to the proposition put forward by Mr Wood correcting, or as it might be, that would simply create a situation in which there would be then a claim from the employees who are members of the other unions for a similar response, and that has all the potential to lead to industrial disputation, and frankly my job is not to create industrial disputes, it's to prevent and settle industrial disputes, and I don't think that the solution is going to lead to industrial disputes if it's appropriate that I go in that direction.

PN3

The third and I think overriding consideration is that what's provided in the Downer Engineering Labour Hire Construction Agreement 2003-2006 is generally superior when taken with the terms of the agreement that was certified on Monday to what is available under the Downer Workshop and Site Agreement 2003-2006, and that being so I think it's best that the superior provisions should apply generally even though on occasions there may be lesser provisions. The value as I understand it of the construction agreement to the employees who would otherwise be employed under the Workshop and Site Agreement is in the order of $80 a week, a figure not to be sneezed at in the context of what would amount to be a claim once a year that equates roughly to $120 all up.

PN4

I'm not prepared to interfere in the decisions that Downer has taken in this matter, and I would encourage the parties to try and reach agreement, the effect of which would be to remove any reference to the Downer Workshop and Site Agreement 2003-2006 from the MOGAS Agreement, and I would also recommend that the matter be taken up with the project manager I think it must be of Caverner Australia, to point out the problems that I see. If there's nothing further the proceedings are adjourned. Thank you.

<END OF EXTRACT [11.15AM]