AG2010/6353, Transcript of Proceedings [2010] FWATrans 505 (29 March 2010)

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

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Fair Work Act 2009 25243-1

DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAMS

AG2010/6353

Sch. 3, Item 17 - Application by agreement to terminate individual agreement-based transitional instrument

Mr Young GH Pak
and
Beak & Johnston Pty Ltd
(AG2010/6353)





Sydney

12.35PM, MONDAY, 15 MARCH 2010

PN1

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Could I have the appearances? Ms Howard, are you there?

PN2

MS R. HOWARD: Yes, I am.

PN3

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. And the three employees are there as well?

PN4

MS HOWARD: Yes.

PN5

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. Thank you. Well, can you tell me some of the circumstances behind these applications, Ms Howard?

PN6

MS HOWARD: Yes. As a business, we've decided to stick with the modern award - - -

PN7

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN8

MS HOWARD: - - - not negotiate a new agreement, and being that we have a few people that are on an agreement with us - so AWAs and ITIAs - and we have 85 per cent of the workforce on awards. What we said a month ago is that any colleague that is interested in terminating their agreement can do so, so last year we looked at doing an enterprise agreement, and through that process, realised that some of our colleagues who are doing excessive overtime in the double time may be, in certain circumstances, worse off under their agreement because they only had time and a half, not double time.

PN9

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN10

MS HOWARD: Due to that, we've allowed them to, as a business, if they want to terminate their agreement, they can do so on an individual basis.

PN11

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I see. Thank you.

PN12

MS HOWARD: The modern award and the industry award.

PN13

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: How many of your employees, other than these three, have agreed to do so? Is there any others?

PN14

MS HOWARD: I've had one colleague that I submitted, I think, three weeks ago. Pak Nguyen, she terminated hers, and since these ladies, I've had two others approach me that would like to do it also. So we have about 56 colleagues in total on-site that are on individual agreements - - -

PN15

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes.

PN16

MS HOWARD: - - - the AWAs or ITIAs, out of the approximately 330 production colleagues we have here.

PN17

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I see. Thank you. All right. Well, Mr Pak, do you confirm that you've agreed to terminate your previous agreement and work under the award?

PN18

MS ..........: Yes - - -

PN19

MS..........: Yes.

PN20

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: One at a time. Mr Pak, yes?

PN21

MR PAK: Yes.

PN22

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. And Mrs Kupfee.

PN23

MS KUPFEE: Yes.

PN24

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: And Mrs Le, is it?

PN25

MS LE: Yes.

PN26

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Yes. All right. Thank you. Well, having reviewed - having heard the submissions of Ms Howard, and noting the agreement of the three employees who are the subject of the request for orders today terminating their enterprise - their individual agreement base transitional instruments, the tribunal will make orders to give effect to those termination of their previous industrial instruments, and those orders shall take effect on and from today's date being 15 March 2010. Thank you very much for taking the time to appear in Fair Work Australia today, and as I said, the orders will be issued in due course.

PN27

MS LE: Thank you - - -

PN28

MS HOWARD: Thank you very much - - -

PN29

MS LE: - - - have a good day.

PN30

THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you.

PN31

MR PAK: Thank you.

<ADJOURNED INDEFINITELY [12.39PM]