Full Bench Blocks Secret Ballots

Date: 24 September 2002

The Full Bench of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission has upheld an interim order blocking the Chamber of Commerce from conducting a secret ballot on a federal agreement offer to employees.

The Full Bench refused to lift an interim order banning the ballots until a dispute between the Chamber and Barrier Industrial Council over an $18 State Wage Case rise was heard.

The matter was adjourned until midday Thursday when the Full Bench will hear the wage case dispute in Sydney that morning.

The decision upholds NSW IRC Deputy President Peter Sams' position that the interim stay order will maintain the status quo in local industrial relations whilst the wage case dispute was negotiated.

The $18 pay increase dispute involves employees working under the BH Commerce and Industry Consent Award.

The Chamber claimed its members cannot afford to pay the rise and wants it deferred or absorbed in current over award payments.

It has sought to introduce federal certified agreements for town employees, which the BIC argued would result in lower pay and conditions for town workers.

DP Sams issued an interim stay on any moves by the Chamber to alter the current award, which effectively held up plans to conduct secret workplace ballots for federal agreements.

The Full Bench agreed with DP Sams that the Chamber's actions would fracture a long and stable history of local industrial regulation, and that offering federal certified agreements was in direct response to the pay rise dispute.

It said the interim orders sought to do no more than preserve the status quo in relation to the local industrial situation.

To do otherwise would facilitate the course of conduct by the Chamber and "potentially give rise to a situation of considerable industrial unrest", the decision said.

It said the Chamber, by offering terms and conditions of employment different to the consent award it was party to, would be "acting in breach of an undertaking presumably given as between the parties and to the Commission".

The Full Bench echoed Deputy President Sam's words that such an agreement should not "be lightly departed from".

Barrier Industrial Council President Brett Campbell said the BIC and affiliated unions were happy that the decision by DP Sams was upheld.
However, he said it was disappointing that the dispute had reached these extremes.

"I'm very disappointed it has taken this much time and energy, including high legal costs, to achieve this," he said.

"The BIC and affiliated unions have expended a lot of money defending its position," he said.
Mr Campbell said he presumed the Chamber also had "...if it is their own money they are spending on this case".

He said the Chamber's money would have been better spent locally.

"Sadly, the Chamber has been exporting significant amounts of Broken Hill dollars which would have been better off spent in the local community."

Mr Campbell said the BIC and affiliated unions were also concerned about exactly how many Chamber members supported the Chamber's actions against the workers of Broken Hill.

He said a decision on the $18 State Wage Case dispute may be handed down within days of Thursday's hearing.

In another development surrounding the dispute, the NSW Government will be represented at Thursday's hearing by legal counsel appointed by Minister for Industrial Relations, John Della Bosca.

The "intervention" has come about because the Chamber in its appeal raised a technical point of law issue regarding jurisdiction between the NSW IRC and the Australian IRC.

Mr Campbell said it was about point of law regarding Section 109 of the Australian Constitution, and whether the Full Bench of the NSW IRC have jurisdiction to override it.

He said whilst the presence of the NSW Government may eventually result in industrial history in the making, the attention it is attracting for Broken Hill may do more damage than good.

"All this attention is more than likely not helping the profile of Broken Hill," he said.
"All those negative comments by the Chamber is doing nothing but dragging down Broken Hill," he said.

For further information

Contact:	Brett Campbell
Union:	Labor Council of NSW
Email:	bicbh@ruralnet.net.au

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed
by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW
[Credits] [Site Matters]