Edwards, R. v Gietzelt, Ray

[1983] FCA 412

23 October log?

No. V27 of 1383

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It. .is or Jnlportnncc th;;t it l x c l e a r l y c , ~ d e r : ~ i . ~ o d

t h a t i n t h e s c p r o c e e d i n g s a l l the respondents I>c,ve

acknowledged and a s s c r t c d that t h e resolut io: ls ?,re

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n o t t o be cons t rued as asserting Chat the appl - icants

_ ,

do not hold t h e p o s i t i o n s 111 :he union vf r ich they

he ld on 16 August 19G3. I t 1 s recognized by them

tha t he app l . i can t s do hold t h o s e p o s l i i o n s ?nd rhe

i s s u e s i n C h l s case conccrn the right or l ack o€

right of the rnanagcnwnt of the branch to provide that

pendinq the outcome of the refcrendum thc app l i ca l l t s

s h o ~ ~ l d n o t a c t u a l l y periorm d u t 1 . e ~ C11n;r voulcl

otherwise perform.

, .

'Thereaf tcr , cl special I l lect lng of thc b ranch was

sought by the applicants under .33 ( c ) of t h c I W U

r u l e s ( t h e r u l e s ) t o c o n s l d e r i h c m a t t e r oi t h c

t c r m i n a t i o n o f employment by t l ~ e b r a n c h of t h c

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HIS IIOUOUR:

MS BlCKCV:

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111s HOLJOIJR:

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biS I1 1CKEY:

H I S E-IO!?OUR:

12.

on In any respect.

MR. KENZIE: Would your Honour say any party?

P

HIS HONOUR:	I beg your pardon?
MR. KENZIE:	Would your Honour say leave to any party?
HIS HONOUR:	Leave to any party. We will ad~ourn.

i

- I

IN THE FEDERAL -'COURT OF AUSTRRLIA)

* , )

VICTORIA	DISTRICT	REGISTRY	)	No. V27 of 1983
)

D I V I S I O N	I N D U S T R I A L	1
)
EX TEE:POl?E JUDGMENT	1
and

C o r a m : Smithers J.

28 Octobr-r 1 9 8 3

..

b

2 .

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

HIS HONOLIR: T h i s c a s e c o n c e r l l s a n a p p l i c a t i o n by t h e

a p p l i c a n t s who a r e a r e s e a r c h o f f l c e r a n d s 1 x branch

o r g a n i z e r s s e e k i n g a n i t e r l m o r d e r t h a t t h e

respondents - Federa l and S t a t e o f f i c e r s cf t h e

res?ondent union, the Fec!eratc.d Miscellaneous K;’or:rcrs

Union o f A u s t r a l i a (M!V’U) - s n o u l d t r e a t as n u l l and

void a r e so ic t jon pa5sed on 2 8 Septcmbcr 1.983 by Che

1?j ~ ‘ ~ , c r l ? . n Br; n?;i e!.f?ci.ri..;e c;: the :!;U thclt ~ 1 , c y l;?

:.vsp?,?:i4 f!-o,i, t h e i r p o r , ~ t i c , , , : . 1:cnd Lnr; a reT?rc~:d~.m

U I I Ci.?<r cnCltle1ncmC CO hold ~ l i o s e ~ , o ~ . i t i o : ~ ~ ; .

acknowled~ed and asser ted Chat the r e s o l u t i o n s ?.re

.. .

n o t t o b e c o n s t r u e d ds asserting t h a t t h e a p p l i c a n t s

do n o t h o l d t h e p o s i t l o n s i n the union wfiich t h e y

he ld on 16 August 1983. I t 1 s recognized by them

tha t he app l i can t s do ho ld t hose pos iC ions and t he

i s sues i n t h i s c a s e c o n c e r n t h e r i g h t or lack of

r i g h t of t h e management of t he b ranch t o p r o v i d e t h a t

pending the outcome of the r e f e rendum the app l i can t s

s h o u l d n o t a c t c a l l y p e r f o r m d u t i e s t h e y \ rOuld

otherwise per form.

3 .

. <. .F ,

7:s 'Of course'; I have heard a l o t o f e v i d e n c e a s t o t h e

- .	I .
.-S ,~:

herit%: o f t h e d i s p u t e which occurred between the

. I -

a p p l i c a n t s i n the branch concerning a c l a l m f o r t h e

i n t r o d u c t i o n b y the branch of a 19 day month for the

a p p l i c a n t s and o t h e r members o f t h e o f f i c e s t a f f .

Also, I have heard much evldence of conduct and

a l l e g e d m i s c o n d u c t b y p e r s o n s c o n c e r n e d i n t h a t

d l F p u t e a n d a f t e r tine p u r p o r t e d r e s o l u t i o n of t h e

d i s p u t e . I have forn:ed some -Jiews on t h z s e m a t t e r s ,

b u t I n t h e r e s u l t , ny v iew5 t u rn ou t n o t t o be

ma t t e r s where , i n t he cLrcn l r s t ances , t he v i ew of a

)udge can bc useful ly s t i l ted. These i s s u e s r e a l l y

c s n c k r n t h z ne:J.rjL:-r; n - ? tl-c= ?,r,nrh !:h0 ' r i l l e r y r p s s

t.hr>il- own v~c: ' ,s on' t h e +-:;sLes \ p ~ ? + n t h e y vo te i n tllc

refcre:?Sm.

ThereafCer, a spec ia l mee t ing o f the b ranch was

sought by the appl icants under r . 3 3 ( c ) of t h e MWU

r u l e s ( t h e r u l e s ) t o c o n s i d e r t h e m a t t e r o f t h e

t e r m l n a t i o n of e m p l o y m e n t b y t h e b r a n c h of t h e

L.

.. applicants. That meet ing Was h e l d on 27 September

<._. ~-, ._I1.,

. ;;::; .,-$’,... -6 ! ‘-

1 , , . , . I . .. I ..\: I > ? a ; *

z . : , > 1983--and r e s o l v e d t h a t h e a p p l i c a n t s b e r e i n s t a t e d

.3 .-. %

:;A< . ; -.; .:S.,; i * i 2- J:

L:,’- Zn” tl?ei-r p o s i t i o n s o f r e s e a r c h o f f i c e r a n d b r a n c h

o r g a n l z e r a s from 16 August 1983. On t h e n x t

morning the branch execut ive reso lved :

“l. In v iew of the importance and ser iousness

o f t h e mt t e r s r e l a t i n g t o t h e t e r m i n a t i o n

of R. Cdwards, G . Lewin, R. Grant , R.

Cheshi re , G. S l a t e r , K. Beardsley and P .

Hind which h a s c a u s e d deep d l v i s i o n s

w i t h i n the Branch and t o ensure t h a t t h e

matter i s r e so lved acco rd ing to the wi shes

o f t h e w h o l e of t h e B r a n c h f l n a n c l a l

m e m b e r s h i p a n d h a v l n g r e g a r d t o h e

conduct of the s p e c i a l n e c t i n g o f t h e

Branch on the 27th Septcirber 1983, the

B r a n c h C x e c u t l v e r e s o l v e s t h a t a

1-efel-erx311m of the whole of the n ranch

f~ 1?a!-hcicll n e i ~ i x r s h ~ p b e conducted on the

f o ~ l Q , ~ ; i l - q q u e s L I o 1 : -

T h a L t h e decislo1ls of tllc Branch SLate

C o u n c i l on iiuqust 16, :92.3, to ’iermimte

tlle appoln tnen: of R . Zd.\..1rd.s, R . Grznt ,

?.nd G . Lewin, dnd the d e c i s i o n s of t h e

Branch Exccutlvc on A d g G s t 1 7 , 19&3, t o

t e r n i n a t e t h e appoi;.tmc-,r:t oi K. Eezrclslcy,

H. Cheshire , P . H i n d and G . S l a t e r h e

endorsed. ...

2 . T h a t t h e B r a n c h E x e c c t i v e d i r e c t s h e

Branch Sec re t a ry t o p repa re fo r t he nex t

s u c c e e d i n g B r a n c h E x e c u t l v e M e e t i n g a

r e p o r t t h c r o c e d u r e s n t h e f o r

conducting of the sa id r e fe rendum.

3 . T h e B r a n c h E x e c u t i v e f u r t h e r r e s o l v e s

t h a t , at t he nex t succeed ing nce t inq of

t h e Branch Executive, a Re tu rn lng Of f l ce r

be appointed t o have the conduct of the

said referendum.

4. I n t h e l i g h t of the d e c i s i o n of the Branch

E x e c u t i v e t o conduct a referendum of the

whole of the Branch financial membership, the Branch E x e c u t i v e d e t e r m i n e s t h a t R.

Edwards, G. Lewin, R . Grant , R . Cheshi re ,

5.

..-:,.-	- .	G.	S l a t e r , K.	Beardsley and P .	Hind be
.%

- ,.. i m n e d i a t c l y s u s p e n d e d €rom t h e i r

,	. -
-, . r e s p e c t i v e p o s i t i o n s w i t h f u l l p a y p e n d l n g

the outcome of the referendum."

P u r s u a n t t o t h a t r e s o l u t i o n t h e a p p L i c a n t s h a v e b e e n

excluded f rom the perfornwnce of any of the d u t i e s

pertain2.r.g t o t h e i r p o s i t i o n s which a r e i:1 c p e s t i o n .

I t i s t h e c a s c f o r t h e a p p l i c a n t s t h a t t h i s c o n d u c t

is i n c o n t r a v c n t l o n o f t h c r u l e s , a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r ,

r . 59, wh I ch s t a t e s :

I n th i s case the problcnt i s \;hether it. i s cscd in t h e

6.

s e n s e of , "We t r e a t the employees a s though they do

noi h o l d t h e p o s l t i o n s i n i s s u e . " o r , "We t r e a t them

. . . - .

--> - . .

% . as the occup ie r s of t h o s e p o s i t i o n s b u t s u b j e c t t o

l n s t r u c t l o n s from the branch not t o p e r f o r m d u t i e s . " .

The d i s t l n c t i o n is r e c o g n i z e d b y Mr. J u s t l c e

F i t z g e r a l d in t l j 11 v. Hignins - (1981) 30 ASR 476 a t

491, w h e r e i n d i c a t e d h t h a t s u s p e n s i o n may

c o n s t i t u t e a pos i t ion where a person being suspended

con t inues t o o c c u p y o f f i c e b u t i s u n e b l c t o e x e r c j - s e

the powers a t tendant thcreon .

I t i s made " I n t h e l 1 g h t of t h ~ de-I s l o n t o h01 d tlie

referendum" which was t o d e a l w i t h the d e c i s i o n Of

the spec ia l mee t ing which ex hypothesi p2rs1.s ts u n t i l

the re ferendum se t s it a s i d e , i f It does do so. I t

p r o v i d e s f o r a suspens ion on fu l l pay . Pay fo r wha t?

7. ,

The answer i s noL pay by way o f g l f t , b u t p a y a g r e e d

. .. -.

upon and a r i s i q o u t of the re levant employrrent . So

c o n s t r u e d t h c r c s o l u t i o n was no t In de f i ance of t h e

d e c i s j o n of t h e s p e c i a l m e e t i n g . I t was a d e c i s i o n

w i t h r e f e r e n c e t o a cour se o f ac t lon t o be t aken 1 n

t h e l q h t of t h k t d e c i s l o n .

The branch execu t ive and s cc re t a ry a re r e s p o n s i b l e

f o r t h e d a y t o d a y managcrnent of the branch and it i s

t h e l r d u t y t o see t h a t t h e c o n d u c t o f the b u s i n e s s 1s

c a r r i e d on e f f i c i e n t l y and properly. From t h e l r

p o i n t of view it was t h e r e f o r e n e c e s s a r y t o make a

d e c i s i o n r e c o q n i s i n g t h e c o n t i n u a n c e of t h e

* -

employment r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e a p p l i c a n g s and

,? . ;k:, .I.,

,, ft;;.,,.thg?.branch with a r i g h t t o t h e payr.ient o f t h e i r

_- .,C &-' ~ - , . ,Q,. I

>,;.:p, y, a - , c .. . -

:+, .. .sala'rZes b u t at t h e same t ime t he b ranch execu t ive

._ - . I" . I.

exercised a r i g h t which is normzlly t ha t of a n

employer exiscing, save I n spec ia l c l r cums tances , t o

r e q u i r e t h a t h e employee not perform duties he i s

employed t o p e r f o r m . By r e s o l v i n g as t h c Grsnch

Execut ive d3-d on 20 September 1983 the employxent

situation	b r o u g h t	s h o u t	tJy	t h e	s p e c i a l	m e e t i l ~ g
persists.

I f , c o n t r a r y t o w h a t I h a v e s a i d , the r e s o l u r i o n o f

28 Sep tember 1983 shou ld be considered a s a

n o n - c o m p l ~ a n c e w l t h t he c l e c l s i o n of t h e s p e c i a l

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meeting .and t o b e a n a s s e r t i o n t h a t t h e employment of

.. ;L. ,.h

. . ',.?&Q

, t1ie.-app,l.cants was not resumed pursuant there to , then

.i . >%T,&. ' >,%G

there 'would be a breach of t h e r u l e s o f t h e u n i o n

which t h i s c o u r t c o u l d en jo in . But before t ak ing

i n r e r i m a c t i o n l n t h a t r e s p e c t the c o u r t would have

t o remember tha t t he r e su l t sough t by rhe b ranch , and

i n my v i e w l e g i t i m a t e l y a n 2 s u c c e s s f u l l y s o u g h t , t h a t

i n ' t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s a t p r e s e n t e x i s t i n g t h e

a p p l i c a n t s s h o u l d n o t a t e n d t h e o f f i c e f o r the

p u r p s e o f pc r fo rminp du t i e s , and t hus be i n c lo se

proximi ty t o Lhose s r l t h whom t h c y a r e i n a s t r c s s f u l

r e l a e l o n s h i p , c o u l d bc and undoub tcd ly would be

achj eve6 by :I;? pas~,j1?5 of a r e s o l u t i o n 111 expres s

ter ,% t o achi CVE t!mt \:IIIch I i!a!ve hclZ ehe p ~ ~ s ~ ~ n l -

r c s o l u L 1 o n ~ c t u a l l y d o c s upon i ; - L prop.:r

cor,% t r u c t i o n . I n t h e ful1e:Sc s e ~ r s , t h r r e f c r c , th:

i n t e r i m	r e l i c f ,	if	gra l l ted ,	s iou ld	cer i :a?n]y	be
f u t i l e .
--

Miss Hickey, who has made every submiss ion poss ib le

i n n7y view, has u r g c d t h a t I should renard ti;e

r e s o l u t i o n as l a c k i n g i n b o n a f i d e s : t h a t 1s t o s a y ,

t ha t it was not passed for the purpose of car ry ing on

t h e b u s i n e s s o f t h e b r a n c h b u t t o a c h l e v e t h e p r i v a t e

d e s i r e s of b r a n c h o f f i c e r s a n d management of t h e

union for revenge or for a l l e g e d p a s t c o n d u c t or t o

i

a c h i e v e p e r s o n a l d v a n t a g e i n t h e f o r t h c o m l n g

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e l e c t i o n .

- 1 .

. - .,

- - _ I .

It -may well be, and probably i s , t h a t t h o s e r e f e r r e d

t o would f e e l g r a t i f i e d t h a t t h e y a r c n o t r e q u i r e d t o

h a v e t h a p p l i c a n t s a c t u a l l y a t work: and

p a r t i c u l a r l y so i n v i e w t h e f o f r t h c o m i n g

re ferendun. Buc it i s i m p o s s i b l e t o say t h a t t h a t i s

t h e r e a s o n f 3 r t h e l r a c t j o n .

The f a c t t h a t it was a course whlch the branch may

h a v e l i k e d t o p u r s u e c o u l d n o t t a k e a w a y t h e

j u s t - i f i c e t l o n f o r a c t l o n d e s i g n e d t o agoid the p c r l l s

11.

'	. .,,	_ -
, I

involved I . t h a t I h a v e r e r e r r e d t o , i n t h e r e s u m p t l o n

of work a t t h e o f f i c e by t h e a p p l i c a n t s . I have no

d o u b t t h a t t h e a n x i e t y f e l t by the b ranch execut ive

i n t h i s r e s p e c t was genuine.

In t he v i ew I h a v e t a k e n , t h e r e i s no q u e s t l o n of

deprivlng any person of any r i g h t p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e i r

employment o r t h e i r lne!llbership. T h e employment and

t h e membership of t h e appl-1cz.nt-s i l ? t h l s ca se r ema lnn

as each of them was on 1G A u g u s t 1983. Accordingly

t h e d p p i l c a t i o n f o r i n t c r 1 m r e l l e f i s r e l e c c e d . 1

thanl: 211 courlscl f o r t ' n c l r a n s ~ s t a n c e .

HIS lIO1IOUR:

MS IIlC1;cY:

H I S HONOUR:

-	P E HICI<EY:
HIS IIClNOUR:

t o fu tu re conduc t of the motlon.

MX. KENZIE: I wonder does tha t mean s tood ove r gene ra l ly?

HIS HOXOUR: I w i l l s t a n d it o v e r g e n e r a l l y w l t h l e a v e t o

e i t h e r p a r t y t o a p p l y t o h a v e t h e m a t t e r b r o u g h t

12.

I - "_

. . - .. I, - . , . R'.

in any respect.

MR. KENZIE: Would your Honour say any party?

HIS HONOUR: I beg your pardon?

.

MR. KENZIE: Would your Honour say leave to any party?

L	HIS HONOUR:	Leave to any party.	We will adjourn.
!
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