Clothing and Allied Trades Union v Snugglerite Industries Pty Ltd

The matter between the Clothing and Allied Trades Union of Australia and Snugglerite Industries Pty Ltd was heard in the Industrial Court. The union alleged that Snugglerite Industries had breached certain terms of the Clothing Trades Award, 1982 by not correctly engaging outworkers. The union claimed that the company had failed to adhere to the award's conditions when employing outworkers, and sought penalties for these alleged breaches.

The primary legal issue for the court to determine was whether the outworkers employed by Snugglerite Industries were indeed engaged to perform work in their own establishments, rather than at Snugglerite's premises. Additionally, the court had to decide whether the requirement that the employer apply to outworkers the terms and conditions of employment provided by the award obligated the employer to grant preference in the engagement of outworkers. The court also needed to ascertain whether the alleged breaches of the award arose from a course of conduct by the respondent.

The court found that the outworkers were engaged to perform work in their own establishments and that Snugglerite Industries had not correctly applied the award's terms and conditions of employment to the outworkers. Consequently, the court held that the breaches of the award had indeed arisen from a course of conduct by the respondent. The court imposed a penalty of $500 upon Snugglerite Industries in respect of the 12 breaches of clause 40 of the Clothing Trades Award, 1982, with the penalty to be paid to the Clothing and Allied Trades Union of Australia. The application for the imposition of further penalties was dismissed.