The list for the Fair Work Commission today includes: Siemens (William Royar), JB Hi-Fi Group Pty Ltd (Wilson), Manildra Stockfeeds Manufacturing Pty Ltd & NSW Sugar Milling Co Op Ltd & Parker (Marsh), Whittaker Building Group Pty Ltd (Skuse), Menzies International (Australia) Pty Ltd (Van Tussenbroek), Star Track Express Pty Ltd (Williams), Lynch Manufacturing NSW Pty Ltd (Maciel), Baia the Italian Pty Ltd (Mezino), Falbury Pty Ltd (Layt), Blackham Resources Ltd (Adams), Curtin University (Reynolds), Chevron Australia Pty Ltd (Ghobrial) Golden West Corporate Total Management Pty Ltd (Gordon), Preformed Line Products (Aust) Pty Ltd (Burke), Gandel Metals (Brenac), The Trustee for Lyndhurst Tavern Discretionary Trust (Baranage), ALDI Stores Pty Ltd as General Partner of ALDI Stores (A Limited Partnership), Champion Pictures Group (Russell), Entire Fire Protection Pty Ltd (Wilson), Tele Magic (Polkinghorne), Australian Scholarship Group Friendly Society Limited (Tonellato), Community Living Australia Ltd (Turner), Woolworths Limited (French), SA Mushrooms (Stefan), Jens Hair Design (Petty), St Johns Community Care Ltd (Kross), Mothers Pantry (Moyes), BMI Group Pty Ltd (Engelbrecht), Upstream Production Solutions Pty Ltd (Salina), Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd (Higgins), Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia (Mejri), The Trustee for Forzpak Unit Trust (Colless), South Oakleigh Club (Gillmore), (Aviation Training Australasia Pty Ltd (Hertaeg), Ventura Bus Lines (Li), Siemens (William Royar), Commissioner of State Revenue (Kerr), Jens Hair Design (Petty), Jase Investments Pty Ltd Australia (Smithers), Colin Joss & Co Pty Limited (Bennett), Ace Traffic Control (Hunter), Fawcett Plumbing Pty Ltd (Knight), Green Valley Grains P/L (Lee), Sprayworx Pty Ltd (Hayward), Suncorp Staff Pty Ltd (Copping), Teys Australia Central Queensland Pty Ltd (Rodrigues), Healthcare Australia Pty Ltd (Sommer), One Care Ltd (Leahy), Optus Administration Pty Limited (Tevita), Star Track Express Pty Ltd (Schuiling), Andrew Kohn Pty Ltd (Scop), BlueScope Steel Limited (Willmot), Thorpe Custom Trucks (Luapo), Cloverdale Admin Services Pty Ltd (Lao), Kingston City Council (Shafai).
June 16, 2017
Forty-seven labour dispute cases are lined up for hearing at the Fair Work Commission. The full list is: BTG Australia Pty Ltd (Evans), On Site Fleet Wash Pty Ltd (Loxton), Fawcett Plumbing Pty Ltd (Knight), Sharrock Trust/Semsley Pty Ltd (Williamson), Para Hills Community Club Inc (Laboutaris), Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd (Johns), Girudala Community Cooperative Society Ltd (Ive), Airlite Management Services Pty Ltd (Humphries), Buslink Sunshine Coast Pty Ltd (Millar), Catalyst Child and Family Services Ltd (Ruitah), Bank Australia Limited (Raven), Hyne Timber Pty Ltd (Capile), Murdoch University (Howard), Hapag-Lloyd (Australia) Pty Ltd (Simmalavong), T&M Management Services Pty Ltd (Fawal), Adactin Group Pty Ltd (Kapoor), Agrifor Scientific Pty Ltd (Salamakha), BK Chemists (Trevisan), Sydney Trains (Robinson), A and A Excavations (Cooper), Wax Converters Textiles Pty Limited (Nichols), BlueScope Steel (AIS) Port Kembla (Antony), Australian Catering (Chen), Playford City Soccer and Community Club Inc (Fowler), Electrocity Pty Ltd (Lavender), The Glenelg Club (Popplewell), Cabin Services Australia (Wederay), Southern Cross Mining Services Pty Ltd (Carlier), Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd (Ingall), Ascot Capital Facilimate Pacific Hotel Cairns CT (Business) Pty Ltd (Walters), The Alphabet Academy Sydney Pty Ltd (Kelly), Healthcare Australia Pty Ltd (Sommer), Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia (Mejri), Whitehorse City Council (Gardner), Viva Energy Refining Pty Ltd (Pearse), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Zheng), Philcam Pty Ltd (Veltkamp), Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) Limited (Geary), The Good Guys Discount Warehouse (Australia) Pty Ltd (French), Western Sydney Community Legal Centre Incorporated (Girdler), Consolidated Mining Labour (Lawn), Remondis Australia Pty Ltd (Butterworth), Australian Federal Police (Astley), Airservices Australia (White), Celesty Family Trust Pty Ltd (Allan), Ravensworth Coal Management Pty Limited (Arnull), ASPECT Studios Pty Ltd (Hastings), Army and Air Force Canteen Service (Shamim).
June 15, 2017
Eight applications for unfair dismissal/contract disputes will be heard by the Fair Work Commission this afternoon. The list includes: Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Townsville (Waterman), Gladstone Ports Corporation Limited (Smith), Rio Tinto (Ballam), BHP Billiton Iron Ore Pty Ltd (Foster), The Trustee for Osterie Unit Trust (Church), DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd (Fitz-Walter), Target Australia Pty Ltd (Sturgess), Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council (Simpson).
June 14, 2017
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – misconduct – s.394 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for unfair dismissal remedy – applicant employed employment as a Tug Master – dismissed after grounding of a tug (the Korimul) in the Tamar River – respondent cited a serious breach of safety and a loss of trust and confidence in the applicant’s abilities – repair claim costs for the Korimul were $333,043.91, TasPorts insurance paid $298,043.91 toward those costs – TasPorts paid an excess of $25,000.00 under its insurance claim and received $10,000.00 in scrap value for the propellers – grounding reported to Marine and Safety Tasmania as required under legislation – investigation conducted – at all times the applicant accepted responsibility for the grounding – investigation found that the navigation errors of the applicant directly contributed to the grounding of the vessel – applicant had grounded the tug vessel known as ‘Fullerton Cove’ on Middle Bank in the Tamar River on 3 October 2011 – Commission found that the applicant’s conduct amounted to him not navigating with due care and attention and therefore, did not ‘[t]ake reasonable care to ensure the safety of [himself] and others at all times’ in accordance with TasPorts’ Health and Safety Policy – found that whilst the conduct was not deliberate, it did result in a number of navigational errors and could not be considered a momentary lapse of concentration – found valid reason for dismissal – consideration given to applicant’s length of service – he had been employed continuously for almost 38 years – applicant aged 64 years at the time of his dismissal – Commission found that the termination of the applicant’s employment was not a disproportionate response to his conduct – dismissal was not harsh, unjust or unreasonable – application dismissed. Finnis v Tasmania Ports Corporation P/L t/a Tasports
June 14, 2017
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – misconduct – s.394 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for relief from unfair dismissal – applicant employed as Store Supervisor – dismissed in December 2016 after transferring approximately $342,000 from account of a deceased person without obtaining certified copy of probate – alleged dismissal was harsh, unjust and unreasonable – respondent claimed applicant’s breach of its Deceased Member Policy and Procedure Manual (Policy) constituted valid reason for dismissal – Policy required certified copy of probate prior to release of funds if balance of account exceeded $20,000 at date of death – this requirement was in the respondent’s Deceased Member Checklist (Checklist) – no dispute applicant used Checklist when dealing with accounts of deceased person – no dispute applicant released approximately $342,000 without witnessing or obtaining certified copy of probate and therefore breached Policy – applicant claimed she was not informed of reasons for dismissal and was not given opportunity to respond – contended respondent failed to take adequate steps to ensure she was fully aware of her obligations under the Policy or inform her breach of the Policy may lead to dismissal – Commission satisfied applicant’s conduct constituted valid reason for dismissal – satisfied respondent notified applicant of reasons for dismissal and gave an opportunity to respond before making decision to dismiss – accepted applicant did not receive training on the Policy but gave this limited weight in consideration of whether dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable – noted applicant’s contract of employment contained an express term stating breach of a policy may result in dismissal – Commission weighed negative consequences of dismissal on applicant against gravity of conduct – found dismissal not disproportionate to gravity of substantial breach of policy – dismissal not harsh, unjust or unreasonable – application dismissed. Murphy v Banana Coast Community Credit Union Ltd t/a BCU
June 14, 2017
ENTERPRISE AGREEMENTS – dispute about matter arising under agreement – jurisdiction – s.739 Fair Work Act 2009 – applicant sought to dispute respondent’s ‘reasonable business grounds’ for rejecting requests for flexible working arrangements – respondent contended Commission did not have jurisdiction to deal with dispute – s.739(2) FW Act provides that Commission must not deal with a dispute to the extent that it relates to whether employer had reasonable business grounds under ss.65(5) or 76(4) – no dispute that request for flexible working arrangements is not a matter specifically dealt with under relevant enterprise agreement – applicant contended that a dispute about a request for a flexible working arrangement is a dispute about ‘the employment relationship (including, for the avoidance of doubt, in relation to the NES)’ – Commission held that the fact that a dispute settlement clause applies to disputes about the ’employment relationship’ including in relation to the NES is insufficient to overcome prohibition imposed by s.739(2)(a) – s.739(2)(a) is specific in its terms – requires written agreement of a particular nature between parties empowering Commission to deal with dispute about whether the employer had reasonable business grounds to reject request for flexible working arrangements – in order to overcome this prohibition there would need to be a specific clause in an enterprise agreement (or other applicable instrument) empowering Commission to deal with such a dispute – Bow v National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority considered – Commission satisfied it did not have jurisdiction to deal with dispute – application dismissed. Sims v StarTrack Express P/L t/a StarTrack
June 14, 2017
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – extension of time – s.394 Fair Work Act 2009 – applicant terminated on grounds of misconduct on 24 January 2017 but did not receive a letter of termination until 8 February 2017 – unfair dismissal application lodged one day after 21 day period – application sent via express post on 13 February 2017 – applicant submitted that Australia Post informed her it would be delivered by 14 February 2017, 21 days after termination – application was not received by Commission until 15 February 2017 – applicant submitted this occurred because Australia Post did not deliver envelope in accordance with Express Post guaranteed next day delivery – respondent submitted that applicant had failed to establish exceptional circumstances – submitted that applicant was aware of time limit and did not take steps to ensure that application was received within time – principles in On Luck Chinese Nursing Home applied – Commission found there was no option but to be satisfied that applicant provided acceptable reason for delay – found respondent is organisation backed by significant resources and excessive delay in receipt of application did not occur therefore possibility of circumstances being clouded by passage of time limited – found that there was no option but to conclude that exceptional circumstances also existed – satisfied that application would have been delivered to Commission within time if Australia Post guaranteed delivery time had been adhered to – extension of time to lodge application granted – unfair dismissal application to proceed. Garg v Eureka Operation P/L t/a Coles Express Brandon Park
June 14, 2017
ENTERPRISE AGREEMENTS – dispute about matter arising under agreement – s.739 Fair Work Act 2009 – unions made application to deal with dispute in regards to terms of BlueScope Steel Port Kembla Steelworks Agreement 2015 (Agreement) – dispute concerned proposed changes that were ‘significant in nature’ within meaning of cl.35.2.2(c) of Agreement – employer had undertaken restructuring, including significant redundancies and labour cost-cutting measures – employees and unions had raised concerns about safety arising from changes to work processes proposed by employer for operations in refractory – application before Commission to arbitrate as to balance of matters stemming from parties’ agreement of February 2017 – question to be answered whether in accordance with Agreement there were any new safety issues that arose from reduction of people used to complete tasks that prevent the implementation of the new work practices – unions submitted that employer’s proposed change not ‘safe’ as required by cl.35.2.1(c) of Agreement – unions submitted change clearly ‘significant change’ within meaning of Agreement and that principles concerning management of change in cl.35 of Agreement are thereby engaged including requirements in cl.35.2.1(c) as it concerned proposed changes being ‘safe’ – to comply with cl.35.2.1(c) of Agreement employer must not merely have turned its mind to safety implications – must actually have ensured the change is safe – employer submitted that in decision to change certain work practices in refractory operations it had complied with requirements for introduction of change in Agreement and maintained the change satisfied required tests in cl.35.2.1(c) of being, among other matters, ‘safe’ – Commission noted proposition that workplace safety is matter of most fundamental importance – considered overarching operation of laws concerning workplace safety, proposed changes and practical implications and inevitable increase in concentration of work where number of employee performing tasks reduced – also noted submissions of employer that some arrangements would actually constitute enhancement to workplace safety – ultimately Commission found unions had not discharged onus – determination issued on basis of reduced number of people performing tasks. Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v BlueScope Steel (AIS) P/L t/a BlueScope Steel
