Meneling Station Pty Ltd v A.M.I.E.U - [1987] FCA 629

Re: MENELING STATION PTY. LTD.
And: AUSTRALASIAN MEAT INDUSTRY
No. 9 of 1987
Industrial Law
22 IR 149

COURT

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY
INDUSTRIAL DIVISION
Keely(1), Gray(1) and Ryan(1) JJ.

CATCHWORDS

Industrial Law - award - breach - right to inspect time and wages record - whether power to make award - whether statutory right of entry exclusive - construction of award - conditions of exercise of right of inspection - whether general authority sufficient - whether notice and demand can be combined - whether implied right to enter premises - whether breaches proved - inference from conversations of refusal to produce records at any time during specified hours.

Acts Interpretation Act 1901 ss.17, 22, 23(b)

Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 ss.4(1), 119, 42A, 190

Northern Territory Meat Processing Award 1984 cll. 23, 25

HEARING

MELBOURNE

#DATE 19:11:1987

Counsel for Appellant: Mr. Trew, Q.C. with Ms. P. Bergin

Instructing Solicitors: Messers Tress Cocks & Maddox, Sydney, as agents for Mildren Silvester & Partners, Darwin

Counsel for Respondent: Ms. C. Simpson

Instructing Solicitors: Maurice May & Co

ORDER

The Appeal is dismissed.

Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

JUDGE1

By this appeal, the appellant seeks to set aside penalties imposed by Evatt J. pursuant to s.119 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 ("the Act") for four breaches of sub-cl. 23(c) of the Northern Territory Meat Processing Award 1984 ("the Award") which allegedly occurred on 16 April, 20 May, 30 May and 2 June 1986 respectively.

Clause 23 of the Award is in the following terms:

"23. TIME AND WAGES RECORD

(a)(i) Except where mechanical timing devices are used for the purpose of recording starting times and finishing times of employees, or where time and wages records are maintained on a computer or microfilm system, each employer shall provide a time book or time sheet in which shall be entered the employees name and classification. The employer shall cause to be entered each day in the time book or time sheet each days starting and finishing times, the times allowed for meals, each days hours of work of each employee and the wages received each week (including overtime and other payments). Such entries shall at least once a week be certified by the employee as a true record of the time worked if he is so satisfied and shall be vouched for by the signature of the employer or his representative or manager.

It shall be a breach of this Award if any person knowingly makes, certifies or vouches for a false entry in such time book or time sheet.

(ii) Where mechanical timing devices are used for the purposes of recording starting and finishing times of employees, each employer shall keep a record from which can be readily ascertained the name and classification of each employee, the hours worked each day and the wages received each week (including overtime and other payments).

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Meneling Station Pty Ltd v A.M.I.E.U

Details

AGLC: Meneling Station Pty Ltd v A.M.I.E.U. [1987] FCA 629 (22 IR 149)
Case: [1987] FCA 629
Decision Date: 19 NOVEMBER 1987

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter between Meneling Station Pty Ltd and the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIE) came before the court in a dispute concerning the interpretation and enforcement of an award. The central issue was whether the union had the authority to inspect time and wage records, and if the award granted such rights, whether the union's actions constituted a breach of these conditions. The court was required to determine if the award included a power to mandate inspections, whether the statutory right of entry was exclusive, and how the conditions for exercising the right of inspection were to be construed. Additionally, the court had to assess if a general authority was sufficient to allow entry and inspection, whether the requirement for notice and the demand for inspection could be combined, and if there was an implied right to enter the premises. The union's breaches were also scrutinized, with specific attention to the inference from conversations suggesting a refusal to produce records at any given time during specified hours.

The court began by examining the language of the award to ascertain the union's rights to inspect time and wage records. It found that the award did indeed provide a right for the union to inspect such records but clarified the conditions under which this right could be exercised. The court emphasised that the statutory right of entry was not exclusive and that the award contained specific provisions governing the inspection process. It held that a general authority was not sufficient; the union was required to follow precise conditions, including providing notice and making a formal demand for inspection. The court also found that the notice and demand could not be combined into a single action, and there was no implied right to enter the premises without following these stipulated conditions. The union's breaches were established based on the inference from the conversations that records were not provided at any time during the specified hours, contrary to the award's requirements.

In conclusion, the court dismissed the appeal, affirming that the union's actions constituted a breach of the award. The union had not complied with the specific conditions outlined in the award for exercising the right to inspect time and wage records. The court's decision was grounded in a detailed analysis of the award's language and the procedural requirements it imposed. The union was found to have overstepped the boundaries set by the award, leading to the affirmation of the lower court's findings. As a result, the appeal was dismissed, and the original decision stood.

Orders

Orders of the court

The Appeal is dismissed.

Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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