Country Fire Authority v United Firefighters' Union of Australia

[2014] FWC 4408

[2014] FWC 4408

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

STATEMENT

Fair Work Act 2009
s.229—Bargaining order

Country Fire Authority
v
United Firefighters’ Union of Australia
(B2014/442)

DEPUTY PRESIDENT SMITH MELBOURNE, 2 JULY 2014

Statement — application by Country Fire Authority for a bargaining order.

[1] I have reserved my decision in relation to good faith bargaining orders sought by the Country Fire Authority (CFA) against the United Firefighters’ Union (UFU) in relation to the current round of enterprise bargaining.

[2] The parties have been engaged in bargaining since March 2013 and it appears that little significant progress has been made, although there have been numerous meetings and a considerable amount of material exchanged.

[3] On 20 February 2014 an interim order was issued, amended on 4 April 2014, and yesterday further orders were sought. One of the orders sought by the CFA was for further bargaining to occur under the auspices and direction of the Fair Work Commission (the Commission).

[4] The issues between the parties are not simple and involve decisions of the Federal Court of Australia and High Court of Australia. These matters are not easily solved. However, there does need to be a circuit breaker in the negotiations to see if an agreement is possible in the short term, having regard to the fact that these negotiations have continued since early 2013.

[5] I have decided to convene a high level conference and invite the Chief Executive Officer of the CFA and the Secretary of the UFU to a private conference with me to examine the structure of the negotiations. Each may bring with them their chief negotiator. I am not inclined to involve the legal representatives at this stage, but, if both sides agree that they wish to bring legal representation, I do not object to that course. I will not issue a decision in relation to the latest CFA application until this conference has occurred but, unless it is agreed otherwise, the decision will issue following that conference.

[6] I ask the parties to contact my Associate as soon as possible to arrange a mutually convenient time when this conference can take place.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

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