AG2004/8176, Transcript of Proceedings [2005] AIRCTrans 57 (4 January 2005)

AUSCRIPT AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD
ABN 72 110 028 825

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

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS


O/N 9530

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS COMMISSION

COMMISSIONER GRAINGER

AG2004/8176

APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION
OF AGREEMENT

Application under section 170LJ of the Act
by Berkeley Challenge Pty Ltd and Another for
certification of the Berkeley Challenge Pty Ltd
Melbourne City Commercial and Industrial
Cleaning Agreement 2004

MELBOURNE

10.03 AM, FRIDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2004

PN1

MR R. RANKIN: I appear on behalf of the Australian Services Union.

PN2

MR D. TRINDADE: I seek leave to appear for Berkeley Challenge Pty Ltd, together with MR G. MARR of the company.

PN3

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes, thank you. Mr Rankin, do you have any objection to my granting Mr Trindade - - -

PN4

MR RANKIN: I have no objection.

PN5

THE COMMISSIONER: No? I am happy to grant you leave and I do. Yes, Mr Rankin?

PN6

MR RANKIN: If it please the Commission, the ASU would seek to rely on the submissions it has made, unless there are clarifications that the Commission would require of us.

PN7

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes. Thank you. Yes, now, I have read your submissions. Thank you. Yes, Mr Trindade?

PN8

MR TRINDADE: Commissioner, there are two applications before you today. The first is the application for a designation of award for the purposes of the no disadvantage test pursuant to section 170XF(2) of the Act. Don't know if the Commission wants to hear any submissions in relation to that. We believe it is clearly the appropriate award for the work.

PN9

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes. Why don't you run me through them. Thank you. Yes.

PN10

MR TRINDADE: The work that is to be performed under the proposed agreement is work that is cleaning work within council offices, within the Melbourne City Council. The Melbourne City Council Award is an award that applies to Melbourne City Council workers and if the work was done within the council it would be - they would be covered by that award. So we believe that for the purpose of designating an award, this award is the appropriate award, Commissioner.

PN11

THE COMMISSIONER: So, that is the Melbourne City Council Award.

PN12

MR TRINDADE: Award 2001.

PN13

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes.

PN14

MR TRINDADE: In relation then to the substantive application for certification, we say that the application meets all the requirements of the Act. In particular we draw the Commission's notice to the following things. That the agreement contains a dispute settlement procedure. That is at clause 10 of the agreement. The agreement specifies a date as a nominal expiry date which is no more than three years from the date of the agreement, and that is 1 September 2007, and that is set out in clause 4.1 of the agreement. We would say that all of the procedural steps have been complied with. The company and the union have taken steps to provide access to the agreement, copies or access to the agreement 14 days prior to a vote being taken, at least 14 days.

PN15

Before any approval was given the terms of the agreement were explained to staff in briefings, and those matters are referred to in the statutory declarations by Mr Marr, and also by Mr ..... of the union. We also say that in relation to the question of the - what is called the Electrolux point, that we meet the requirements of the Act in that all of the matters in the agreement either directly pertain to the relationship between the employer and employees, or are ancillary to clauses that directly pertain, or are machinery provisions. Unless the Commission has any particular issues that the Commission would like us to address, those are the submissions in support of the applications.

PN16

THE COMMISSIONER: Yes. Thank you very much. Yes. I am satisfied on the basis of the written submissions and the submissions made before me today in respect of the Berkeley Challenge Pty Ltd Melbourne City Commercial and Industrial Cleaning Agreement 2004, that all of the substantive provisions come within the scope of the employment relationship or ancillary, incidental or machinery provisions which only relate to a matter pertaining to the employment relationship as determined by a majority of the High Court of Australian in Electrolux Home Products Pty Ltd v The Australian Workers' Union, and by VP Ross of this Commission in Ballantyne v The National Union of Workers.

PN17

I am satisfied that it is appropriate for the Commission to designate the Melbourne City Council Award 2001, pursuant to the provisions of section 170XF of the Act, and I am satisfied that all of the matters required in section 170LJ have been complied with and I do certify this agreement today, 17 December 2004 and I thank the parties for their submissions. Thank you. I now adjourn.

ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [10.08am]