DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.437 - Application for a protected action ballot order

"Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union" known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU)
v
U.C.P. Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia
(B2015/1128)

DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK

MELBOURNE, 20 AUGUST 2015

Proposed protected action ballot of employees of U.C.P. Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia.

[1] This is an application by “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) (the Applicant) made under s.437 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) for a protected action ballot order in relation to certain employees of U.C.P. Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia (the Respondent Company).

[2] On 20 August 2015 my associate was advised that the Respondent Company did not object to the application.

[3] In the circumstances, I have decided to determine the matters on the papers without holding a hearing.

[4] On the basis of the material before me, including the statutory declaration of Mr D Vroland of the Applicant setting out the steps taken by it in bargaining with the Respondent Company and that it has been, and is, genuinely trying to reach agreement with the Respondent Company, I am satisfied that the requirements in s.443(1) of the Act have been met.

[5] An order has been issued separately in PR571067.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, also known as the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union (AMWU), brought proceedings against U.C.P Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia. The AMWU sought a declaration that a ballot of employees of U.C.P Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia regarding proposed protected action be conducted in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The dispute arose from the AMWU's attempt to organise a ballot of employees for the purpose of taking protected action in the form of industrial action. U.C.P Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia opposed the ballot on the basis that it was not in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The central legal issue for the Commission was whether the AMWU's proposed ballot of U.C.P Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia employees was in compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Specifically, the Commission had to determine whether the ballot notice provided by the AMWU contained all the information required by section 323 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and whether the ballot was being conducted in a manner consistent with the protections and requirements set out in the Act. The Commission was also required to consider whether U.C.P Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia had acted in a manner that would justify the intervention of the Commission in the proposed industrial action process.

The Commission found that the AMWU's proposed ballot did not comply with the requirements of section 323 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The ballot notice did not include all the necessary information, including details of the protected action to be taken and the period for which it was proposed to be taken. Furthermore, the Commission determined that U.C.P Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia had not acted in a manner that would justify the intervention of the Commission in the proposed industrial action process. As a result, the Commission ruled in favour of the AMWU, declaring that the ballot should be conducted in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the ballot of employees of U.C.P Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia be conducted in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The Commission specified that the ballot notice provided by the AMWU must include all the information required by section 323 of the Act, including details of the protected action to be taken and the period for which it was proposed to be taken. The Commission also noted that any further industrial action taken by the AMWU must comply with the protections and requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

"Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union" known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) v U.C.P Australia Pty Ltd T/A United Pumps Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established