C2007/2933, Transcript of Proceedings [2007] AIRCTrans 563 (17 October 2007)

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

---

Workplace Relations Act 1996 17584-1

VICE PRESIDENT LAWLER

C2007/2933

s.170LW - prereform Act - Appl'n for settlement of dispute (certified agreement)
United Firefighters' Union of Australia
and
Transfield Services Australia Pty Ltd
(C2007/2933)

MELBOURNE

9.47AM, THURSDAY, 04 OCTOBER 2007

Continued from 18/9/2007

PN905

MR R PARKINSON: I appear on behalf of Transfield Services with
MR C LEONG.

PN906

MR M BROMBERG: I continue to appear with MR CAMPBELL. If your Honour pleases, we're grateful firstly, to your Honour for the indulgence and it's been productive. From the UFU's perspective we can tell your Honour that the UFU is in a position of being able to say to your Honour that it's prepared to accept your Honour's recommendation.

PN907

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or the proposed recommendation. I didn't want to make a recommendation unless the parties were comfortable with the recommendation being made.

PN908

MR BROMBERG: Yes, I understand that. The UFU is comfortable with the recommendation being made and it would accept it. It wants to highlight one matter, your Honour, and that is that the proposed recommendation speaks of there being reviews at the various stations. The UFU would like to have the Commission available to participate in those reviews as and when required. It may not be required but if it were required the UFU would like to be in a position to know that the Commission might be available to assist.

PN909

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Is that satisfactory from your friend's - - -

PN910

MR PARKINSON: Indeed.

PN911

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I take it Transfield is happy also for the recommendation to be issued.

PN912

Mr PARKINSON: Yes, your Honour. We're comfortable with the recommendation. Clearly, this does require there to be some commercial changes with our client. Indeed, the effect of these recommendations being implemented will add over the term of the contract some $7.6m worth of costs so at this point in time the Department of Defence has not given, as it were, its imprimatur to the effect of these activities. We're very confident that the Defence will also endorse the process going forward, however, we haven't concluded that at this point in time. In the event that there were any issues with that, we would certainly keep your Honour informed.

PN913

As to, as Mr Bromberg has suggested, the involvement of the Commission as and when required with the review, it would be certainly be appropriate from our point of view and we would hope that the review can indeed get under way very promptly and we would urge that to be the case.

PN914

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I think formally then, the better course is to simply adjourn the matter in order to provide the vehicle for the Commission's continued involvement if the parties request it. I'll make a recommendation in terms of the draft that has been provided to the parties and that will be issued to the parties and matter number C20072933 is adjourned generally. Anything further from Transfield?

PN915

Mr PARKINSON: No, thank you, your Honour.

PN916

THE VICE PRESIDENT: From you, Mr Bromberg?

PN917

MR BROMBERG: Would your Honour excuse me a minute? There's one issue I need to sort out, sorry. Your Honour, I just want to make clear that as far as we understand it, the recommendation, and in particular in relation to Cerberus, in terms of the manning levels, is dealing with the minimum manning and is not intended to suggest that the fire station officer that's there on dayshift now, doesn't stay. Mr Parkinson and I are agreed that the fire station officer will stay and that the crew of four that's referred to in the recommendation for Cerberus is in addition to the fire station officer who works the dayshift. I think we're agreed about that. I just wanted to put that on the record and on that basis we understand that your Honour's proposed recommendation is dealing with the crew of four but not including the fire station officer employed on dayshift. Is that right?

PN918

MR PARKINSON: Nearly.

PN919

MR BROMBERG: Nearly right?

PN920

MR PARKINSON: The fire station officer actually works a normal Monday to Friday day arrangement, not so much a dayshift in the context of the crew. What we're talking about in terms of the four crew, we're talking about the operating crew, that is those that form part of the crew to attend to the service. In any event, to clarify it, we have no intention at this point to change the arrangements of the fire station officers.

PN921

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Okay, so it's understood the recommendation in relation to Cerberus does not include in the fire fighting crew of four the fire station officer who is employed on a Monday to Friday full time basis.

PN922

MR PARKINSON: That's correct.

PN923

MR BROMBERG: Yes. Thank you, your Honour

PN924

THE VICE PRESIDENT: On that basis the recommendation will issue and the matter is adjourned.

<ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [9.54AM]