Industrial Relations Secretary v Fire Brigade Employees' Union of New South Wales

The Industrial Relations Secretary appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against orders made by McCallum J in favour of the Fire Brigade Employees' Union of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the interpretation of an award governing the employment of firefighters, specifically whether the award empowered the employer to dismiss firefighters during an intrastate multiday deployment and whether firefighters were entitled to overtime payment for the entirety of such deployments.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, it had to ascertain whether the relevant award provisions permitted the dismissal of firefighters during an intrastate multiday deployment. Secondly, the Court needed to decide whether the award entitled firefighters to receive overtime payments for the entire duration of these multiday deployments, or only for specific periods within them.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders of McCallum J. The reasoning focused on the interpretation of the award, finding that it did not support the Union's claims. Consequently, the Court dismissed the amended summons filed by the Union and ordered that the Union pay the employer's costs of the proceedings in the Common Law Division. The Court also ordered the Union to pay the Secretary's costs of the appeal.