Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited

[2015] FWC 5755

[2015] FWC 5755

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.225—Enterprise agreement

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
(AG2015/3646)

Banking finance and insurance industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	ADELAIDE, 20 AUGUST 2015

Application for termination of the ANZ/FSU Agreement 1998 - procedural matter - confidential document.

[1] This application was the subject of a Mention hearing before me yesterday. I made a decision on the matter at the conclusion of that proceeding. That decision was to allow the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (the Applicant) to use what is known as the Employment Category Summary Document (ECSD) in these proceedings. I advised I would issue written reasons for the decision and these are those reasons.

[2] In proceedings before a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) in EM2013/107 a document was prepared known as the ECSD. The ECSD was compiled through a process of comparing the register of Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) members at the time with the list of employees, by group, provided by the Applicant. An undertaking was given by Mr Tamvakologos, as representative of the Applicant in those proceedings, that he would not, in summary, keep, use or reproduce the extract of the FSUs current register of members and would only use it for the purpose of preparing and checking the ECSD.

[3] Mr. Tamvakologos submitted that he had complied with all aspects of that undertaking and that it had, in effect, “fallen away”. Separately, the Applicant and FSU entered into an agreed arrangement to maintain the confidentiality of the ECSD. The Full Bench considered those agreed arrangements and determined they were acceptable. I note that while agreeing to those arrangements, the Applicant did not concede the ECSD was in fact confidential.

[4] The Applicant seeks to rely on the ECSD in the proceedings before me. The Applicant submits that a consideration of the ECSD is relevant to a consideration of section 226(b)(i) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The FSU oppose the use of the ECSD in these proceedings on any basis.

[5] Having considered the views of the parties I have determined that the Applicant will be able to rely on the ECSD document in these proceedings. It is potentially relevant to a consideration of the matters in section 226(b)(i) of the Act and it is appropriate that the Commission is able to consider the material.

I have also determined that the key components of the confidentiality agreement regarding the ECSD agreed to by the parties in the Full Bench proceedings and accepted by the Full Bench in those proceedings should also apply in these proceedings. I see no reason to depart from those arrangements. A confidentiality order 1 will issue concurrently with this decision.

COMMISSIONER

Appearances:

M Tamvakologos of Seyfarth Shaw representing the Respondent

R Chaudhry for the Finance Sector Union of Australia

Hearing details:

2015

By Telephone:

August 19

 1   PR571032

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<Price code A, AG767843  PR571025 >