Municipal Officers Association v Shire of Yalgoo

[1978] FCA 79

Industria1,Law - Alleged Breach o f Award - Employee's r i g h t

to sa la ry dur ing suspens ion - Alleged inconsistency between

State Act and Federal A m r d - Terms of Award incorpora t ing

S t a t e Act, - Conciliation and Arbi t ro t ion Act 1904 s.119

Local GG-Jernmen-c Act - 1960-1975 ( V e A o ) s.158(2) I (5) , ( 6 ) , ( 7 1 ,

(10) - 1

I

IWNiCIP!AL OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION v. SHIE OF YALGOO

SI4ITISERS J.

8 SEPTENBER l978

ICELBOURNE

.'

-	IX THZ FEDER4L COURT OF AUSTRALIA
YESTERN AUSTRALIA DISTRICT REGISTRY V 0 A a NO- 2 of 1978
IIDUSTRIAL DIVISION I

I N THE MATTER OF THE CONCILIATION

AND ARBITRATION ACT 1904

B E T 17 E E N: THE MUI\IICIPAL OFFICERS I ASSOCIATION OF AUSTFALIA .

C l a i m a n t

A N D: S H I M OF YALGOO ! I .

R e s p o n d e n t	I
!

,	I
:
8 1

O R D E R

JUDGE ?.'IAKING ORDER : SMITHFRS J D

DATE OF ORDER 8 S E P T E T E R , 1978

l;!HERX MADE	IELBOURI'E
TEE COURT ORDERS:

l ~ T h a t the summons hereill be dismlssed.

THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIP,

VZSTERii AUSTRALIA DISTRICT REGISTRY W.A. No. 2 of 1978

I

DIVISION INDUSTRIAL 1

I N THE DL4TTER OF THE CONCILIATION

llRrD ARBITRATION ACT 1904

B E T 1'1 E E N:	THE I"IUNIC1P: T , OFFICERS f	-	I
i

ASSOCIATION	OF	AUSTRkLI.4
Claimant

A N D: SHIRE OF YALGOO

!

I

Respondent

, l

SMITHERS J .

8 SEPTEMBER 1978

I

I

FZASOPJS FOE JKOGiviEiTT

The c lamant seeks the impos i t ion of a pena l ty upon

the respondent pursuant t o s.119 of The Conciliation and

Arbi t ra t ion Act 1904 a l l eg ing that between 15 October 1975

I

and 29 November 1975 It d ld f a i l t o observe 'the provis ions of

clause 6 o i the Lccal Govermmt Off icers ' (Vestern Austral ia)

Award 1975 (the award) by f a i l i n g t o pay t o Wllliam Jarnes Lapham,

2

the Shire Clerk of the respondent , the minimm sdary prescr iLed

by the c l ause appropr i a t e t o h i s c l a s s i f i ca t ion . The sum a l leged

to have been payable but not paid was $1,984.22 , be ing in r e spec t

of six weeks and three days -.t t h e r a t e of $300.64 per week and

t h i s was not disputed.

B u t the respondent contends that by reason of the terms

of the award it was under no l i a b i l i t y t o pay a sa l a ry to

M r Lapham i n L h e circumstances prevail ing a t the re levant

time. Those circumstances were that purporting to act under

s . l58(5) (a) of the Local Government Act 1960-1975 (W.A.)

( the Act) the respondent suspended M r . Lapham on October 15

1975, that on the same day , pursumt tc s . l58(6) (b j o f

3 I

the A c t Mr. Lapham requested an inqu i ry , t ha t one Daniel

John O'Dea having been appointed pursuant t o s0158(6) (b)

to hold the inquiry held such inquiry and the repor t

was made to the r spondent on 19 November

1975 pursuant to S. 15S(6) (d) and WLS read at

a meeting of the respondent on 29 November 1975, t h a t at

the sa id meeting the respondent, pursuant to s.158(7) resolved

to terminate the service of Mr. Lapham a t that date. The sa id

Mr O'Dea determined that Mr. Lapham should not be paid his

salary o r any par t thereof for the per iod o f his suspension.

I t i s apparent tha t , i f pursuant t o the terms of the

r

award, the provis ions o f S. 158 of the Act were applicable t o

the employment r e l a t ionsh ip between the respondent and Er.

3

Lapham with r e spec t t o the pe r iod 01 suspenslon then the

respondent commltted no breach o f t h e award. Clause 6( 1) ( a )

of the award provides:-

"The minimum annual ra tes of s a l a r i e s t o be paid

t o o f f i c e r s of theunder-mentioned c l a s s i f i c a t l o n s

s h a l l be as s e t o u t i n this clause1'.

Clause 22 provides:-

IIPayment of s d a r i e s s h a l l be made a t l e a s t

fo r tn igh t ly du r ing working hours e

.-

The amount payabl-e t o ? P r o Lephain under. these clauses

I

i n respect of the per iod of suspension vas the sum of $1,984.22.

But the award must be read as a whole and it was argued f o r

t he r e sponden t t ha t the gene ra l p rov i s ions of c lause 6 and Clause

22 had no application t o t h e employment of Mr. Lapham wi th respec t

t o t he pe r iod of suspension because clavse 21

lntroduced a spec ia l p rov i s ion r e l a t ing to tne t e rms and

condl t lons appl icable vhere an authori ty proposed to terminate

the employment of i ts c l e rk and had i n connection with such

proposal suspended him pursuant t o so158(5 ) (a ) o f The Act,

Clause 21 provides as follows:-

'!(l) Sub jec t t o the p rov i s ions of the Local

Government Act, 1960-1973, as amended and t h e

Health ACT;, 1911, as amended, the per iod of

n o t l c e t o be given by a Local Authorlty t o an

o f€ icer o r by a n o f f i c e r t o a Local Authority

t o te rmina te the cont rac t o f se rv ice sha l l be : 5

( a ) i n t h e c a s e of TOTM o r Shjre Clerk, Tovn

o r Shire Engineer (other thlcn E l e c t r i c a l )

o r Profeselonal Engmeer covered by Clause 10

of t h i s awz-6, f o u r weeks;

4

and no o f f i c e r s h a l l l e a v e h i s employment u n t i l

he has given not lce in wrl t ing 02 h i s i n t e n t i o n

t o do s o and tha t per iod has expi red .

( 2 ) In the event of the appropriate period

of no t i ce n o t be ing g iven , then the ra te of s a l a r y

f o r t h e p e r l o d of no t lce sha l l be pa id by t h e

Local Authority o r f o r f e i t e d by the o f f i ce r .

(3) P rov lded tha t t h i s c l ause sha l l no t app ly to

an o f f i ce r	who	has been just i f iably dismissed	€or
misconduct	~

T h l s c lause was considered by this Court i n the Municioal Officers '

Association of Aus t ra l ia v. Shire of Yalgoo (unreported B. NO. 190

of 1976 de l ivered on Apri l 6 1977) wherein the respondent vas

subJected to a penal ty f o r f a l l i n g t o pay t o Mr. Lapham his

s a l a r y f o r a per lod of four weeks a f t e r t e r m i n a t i n g h i s s e r v i c e

I without no-cice on 29 November 1975. In t h a t c a s e it vas said:-

"Quest ions vere ra lsed as t o the meaning of the

clause and the effect of the vords ' subject to the

provis lons o f the Local	Government Act, 1960-1973
a s amended I .

That Western Austral ian s ta tute provides a

method whereby an of f icer , inc luding Shi re Clerk ,

may be removed from an offlce D In our view it

provides an exclusive method of doing t h i s and

under the s ta tute an ofTicer can only have his services terminated In accordance with the

provis ions of s.158 and par t lcv lar ly sub-sec t lons 5,

6 and 7. The r e s u l t i s t h a t 11̂ It i s proposed t o

terminate the services of tin o f f l c e r f o r any reason,

the Council must e i the r o rde r an lnqu l ry o r suspend

him, s t a t ing the r easons fo r h l s suspens ion . The

o f f i c e r may wi th ln a perlcjd apply to the Councll

f o r a n l n q u i r y and i f he does, the Council must

o rder the inqui ry . The person hold ing the inqury

makes a reDort In writ ing to the Counci l , which,

l n t e r a l i a - , i s t o be read as soon as p rac t i cab le

i n open council. Where .m lnqui ry is ordered, the

dec is ion of the Councll i s n o t t o <be glven until

a f t e r t h e reading of the repor t .

In t h i s p a r t i c u l a r c a s e , -&e Clerk vas

suspended. He then soL1ght an inquiry Irhlch was

held. The r epor t vas r e a d i n open Council and a

decision then reached	-c0	dismiss h i m .
5

The Associat lon argued that jIf an inquiry was

car r led out pursuant to the provis ions of s.158 an

of f lcer could not	be	dismissed summarily	f o r
mlsconduct

On the other hand, It vas argued for the Councll

t h a t S. 158 overrode and rendered nugatory the

provis ion of c lause 21 of the award because of t t h e

presence in the clause of the words SubJect t o the

provis ions of tne Local	Government	ACT;	1960-1973s
as amended'

?le t h m k it c l ea r t ha t ne i the r o f t hese

submissions i s well-founded.

In our view the effect of c lause 21 and S. 158

o f the Ves te rn Aus t ra l ian s ta tu te is t h a t an imployer

wishing to discharge o r termlnate t h e s e r v x e s of

a n o f f i c e r e i t h e r by dismlssal f o r mlsconduct o r

by any o ther method of termmation of the contract ,

must carry out the provis lons of s.158 inc luding

t hose r e l a t ing t o suspension and inquiry. It is

n o t e n t i t l e d t o r e a c h a dec is ion until the r epor t

has been made and read	m	open c o u n c ~ l .
,

If af ter these procedures have been carrled o u t

t he se rv i ces a re t e rmlna ted o thenr i se than ju s t l f i ab ly I

for r@isconduct, one o f the per lods o f no t ice spec l f ied

i n sub-clause l must be given o r one of the sums o f

money specif ied in sub-clause 2 pa id . If ultimately

a n o f f i c e r i s jus t i f lab ly d ismlssed for misconduct he

obta ins no r i g h t s a t a l l under clause 21 of the award

and must look elsewhere f o r any r i g h t s 'I

Sect ion 158 of the Act is i n te rms appl lcable to the

employment of iYra Lapham. So fa r a s ma te r i a l 1 t provides:-

"Section 158

(l)ono

(2 ) The counci l may, but only i:~ accordance with

the terms and conditions cf the agreement under vhich

he i s appointed to the o f f i c e , remove an o f f i ce r from

an of f ice	and appoint a successor l n his place.
( 3 1 0 . *

( 4 ) . 0 0

(5) ( a )	Whel*e the	counci	l	proposes	to	terminate
.L

Lhe se rv ices of a person hol.ding aily o f those

offzces except where they are terminazed by reason

of 111s ret i rement under subsect ion ( 3 ) of t h i s s e c t i o n

6

it sha l l e i t he r o rde r an inqu l ry unde r th i s sec t ion

o r suspend him.

(b) ...

(6) (a) Within seven days after suspenslon the officer

may, i f the inquiry has not a l ready been held, apply

t o t h e c o u n c i l f o r an inquiry and thereupon the

counci l sha l l o rder an inqui ry , bu t i f t i e o f f i c e r

does not s o apply the counci l may proceed to

determine the matter.

!

(b) A person appomted by the Governor sha i l ho ld

the inqui ry .

(c ) The person ho ld ing the inqul ry sha l l make

a r e p o r t i n w r l t i n g on the matters inquired into.

(d) The or igir?al of t h e r e p o r t s h a l l be sen t by

him to the counc i l and coples of t h e r e p o r t s h a l l a t the

same time be s o sen t to the Minis te r and the of f icer

i n r e s p e c t of uhom the inqu i ry was made.

( e ) The r e p o r t s h a l l be read as oon as

p r a c t i c a b l e i n open co-mci i , I

(7) Where an 1nqu.ir-y is ordered the decis ion of the

counc i l sha l l no t	be	given untll	a f t e r t h e r e a d i n g	o f
t he r epor t .

( lO) (a ) The person holding the lnqui ry may award cos t s

and expenses ( including the ex enses r e fe r r ed to i n

subsect ion ( 9 ) of t h i s s e c t i o n P t o a n amount assessed by

him aga ins t e i t he r t he counc i l o r t h e o f f i c e r and

any coats o r eAxpenses s o awarded may be recovered as a

d e b t i n a cour t o€ competent Ju r i sd i c t ion .

(b) The person hold ing the inqui ry sha l l a l so

determine whether the off icer shal l o r s h a l l n o t be paid

h i s s a l a r y	o r any	pa r t t he reo f fo r t he pe r lod	of	his
suspenslon.

It was sald tha t c l ause 21 i s concerned only with the

per iods of not ice to be given by a local authori-cy to an o f f i ce r .

It was conceded t h a t t h e e f f e c t of c lause 21 vas tha t t e rmina t ion

of employnent could not occur u n t i l the procedures prescr ibed in

s.158 of t h e Act had been observed. But It was contended that

7

clause 21 did not ope ra t e to app ly the terms of s.158 of t h e

Act t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between the claimant and the respondent

s o t h a t t h e r i g h t s and obligations concerning remuneration of

14r- Lapham during the t ime that the procedures prescr ibed by

S. 158 were i n the course of lmplementatlon were determined by

the provis ions thereof . It was acknowledged tha t the provis lons

of t h e Act	cannot	p reva i l	aga ins t	the	arrard	because	of s.65 of the	I
,

Conci l ia t ion and Arbi t ra t ion Act 1904. The i ssue must therefore be I

r e so lved acco rd ing to the p rope r in t e rp re t a t ion of clause 21.

The quest ion i s vhe ther tha t c lause is t o be u n d e r s t o o a s i t s e l f l.

?

providing that during the per iod when the procedures under

s.158 are be lngmrr ied out the remunera t lon of the employee

concerned i s t o depend upon t h a t s e c t i o n , i n o ther words

does the award say -chat t h e empl6yee’s enti t lement to

remuneratlon during suspension 1s something t o be determined by

I

t h e a r b i t r a t o r p u r s u a n t t o S. 158( 10) (b) As I s a i d In

MciYanus v. Genera l Elec t r ic Co. of Australia Ltd. (1971) 18 F.L.R.

374 a t 381 :-

11

.e..o. D it is competent Tor a Commonwealth award t o

prescr ibe by re ference there to that the p rov i s ions of

a S t a t e law which applies to persons and SltUatlOnS

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

pa r t i cu la r pe r sons and s i tua t lons wl th in the

j u r i s d i c t i o n of t h e avard-maklng au thor i ty . If It

does t h i s t h e n r i g h t s and du t i e s s imi l a r l i l n- t a ure

and extent to those conferred and imposed by the

provis lons of t h e S t a t e law i n r e l a t l o n t o t h e

p a r t i e s t h e s u b j e c t of t he %a te law are thereby

conferred and imposed by t h e award i t s e l f upon the

p a r t i e s s p e c l f i e d i n t n e award.”

That i t should be the effect of a qual i fy ing provis ion such as the

Y

i

8

opening vrords of clause 21 t h a t it should cause the whole

c l ause to enac t a pos i t lve provis ion a f fec t ing the te rms of

the employment and making tk.2 p rovis ions o f S t a t e l a v a p p l i c a b l e

may seem unusual.

The problem of interpreting clause 21 has i n it a

degree of silmilarity with that dea l t w i th by Stephen J. I n

R. v. kustral iar , Conci l la t ion and Arbj t ra t ion - Commission;

ex parte Transport Workers Union of Aus t ra l ia (1977)

17 A.L.R. 367 where the re vas under consideration a c lause

i n a l o g o f c l a lms to the e f f ec t t ha t ce r t a in work s h a l l "be

performed by members of the IWU and such work s h a l l n o t be

!

a l loca ted to cmcaloyees members of -che TWU o r the FEDFA" D

,

The quest lon was whether on i t s p rope r in t e rp re t a t lon the

clause expressed a demand tha t ne l ther nod-unlonis t s nor

members of more thm- one of the w-ions referred to should be

I

employed. His Honour s a i d a t page 372:-

"The first demand i s expressed , success ive ly , in

the aff i rmat lve and in the negat ive, each l inked

t o t h e o t h e r by t h e word 'and D The af f i rmat lve

1

demands agreement t h a t i n t h e performance of

I

work by employees . e . a l l such ~s?ork shall be

performed by o r sha l l con t lnue to be performed by I

members of the i'MJ', the nega t lve tha t such vork

s h a l l n o t be a l l o c a t e d t o emDloyees members of t h z TVW

o r the FEDFA' D Neither shouid, I th ink , be r e a d i n

l s o l a t l o n from the other. Not only are they l inked

grammatically but their subject matter, the arrangement

of the paragraph and the general mode o f expresslon

requi res , I th lnk , tha-c they should be read togetner

as express ing one ent i re concept . They provide an example

of the ccmmon devlce of using afflrmatlve and ncga tive

s t a t e m e n i x , i n p a r a l l e l c l a u s e s , t o e q r e s s t h e one

concept ifl tvo ways. approaching i;t from opposite

poles . The concep L; h2re i s tha t cGr ta in work s h a l l be

the prcserve of cer ta in persons, exclusive o f c e r t a l n

o t h e r s ; t h i s i s eqcpressed, first affirmatively and

then nega t ive ly , i n t he tlvo successive clauses. Mr.

Commissioner Portus expressed the sense of' th? thing

9

succ inc t ly when, on the flrst d ispute T i r s t coming

before him, he remarked t h a t ' i f work i s t o be allocated

t o a pa r t i cu la r un ion as aga ins t t he members of other

unions it fo l lows tha t t he work s h a l l n o t be a l l o c a t e d t o

members of su.ch other unlons D

The c l auses a re no t pe r f ec t ly co r re l a t ed s ince one

r e f e r s to performance of work, the other to I ts a l locs t ion ;

however they a re , subscant ia l ly , the a f f i rmat ive and

negative aspects of the one concept. So understood

each clause adds meanmg to the other, the affirma-cive

c lause be ing qua l i f ied in scope by the terms of i ts

negat ive par tner . The vhole seeks no absolute

monopoly f o r MW members, but only a monopoly a s

regards members o f the o ther two unions. It follows

t h a t I do not regard the first demand a s a t a l l

c o n c e r n i n g i t s e l f m t h t h e q u e s t i o n	of non-union
labour

Clause 21 does not say, but assumes tha t the procedure

by which the employment of a c l e rk will come to an end is t h a t of

the giving of a not ice by one p a r t y t o t!le other. This

assurnptlon is reasonable and may 'be taken as sound. In that

s l t ua t ion c l ause 21 declares the length of not ice vhich is t o be

given by t h e l o c a l government a u t h o r i t y t o t h e c l e r k as an

e f f ec t ive p rocedure fo r l ega l ly t e rmina t ing the c l e rk ' s employment.

It d e c l a r e s a l s o t h a t that procedure shal l be i n s t i t u t e d o n l y

subjec t t o the provisions of the Act. So seen the clause, read

a s a whole, expresses "one ent l re concept" namely the terms and

condl t iom governing termmation of the contract of employment.

The in t roductory qua l i fy ing words and t h e p r o v i s i o n s a s t o t h e

per iod of no t ice a re %ot per fec t ly cor re la ted" s ince the former

r e f e r s t o p r o v i s i o n s t h a t t h e authority's r i g h t t o Terminate the

i c l e r k ' s employment d o e s n o t a r i s e u n t i l a f t e r a perlod of

suspension on cer ta in prescr ibed terms and condi t ions, and the

l a t t e r r e f e r s m e r e l y t o t h e p e r i o d of a l ega l ly e f f ec t ive no t i ce

*

of terminat3.on. So understood each part of the clause "adds meanxg

to the o ther ' ! and t h e whole i s effec-cive to operate as a composite

provis ion enac t ing o r awarding tha t t he t e rms and conditlons of

terminat ion of the contract of a c l e r k ' s employment a r e

thoe" contained in the provls ions of t h e Act r e l a t i n g t o t e r n i n a t i o n

toge ther with fou r weeks not ice given when permisslble , in accord-

ance therewith. The introdu.ction of f o u r weeks not ice when so

pe rmis s ib l e r e f l ec t s t he dec i s ion of t h l s Court I n NuniciDal

l

Off icers ' Associat ion of Australia v. Shire of Yalgoo (supra) . The

in t roduct ion of the provis ions o f the Act 1 s wrapped up i n t h e

no t ion tha t c l ause 21 dea ls wi th the subjec t of terminat ion

of employment as an ent i re concept . An i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of c lause 21

as a posi t ive provis lon of the award introducing the terms of

the Act i n t o t h e employment is therefore not t o be denied, simply

because i t i s expressed i n q u a l i f y i n g words. Such an in t e rp re t a t ion

,

reads more in to c l ause 2 1 than was perhaps contemplated in c e r t a i n

dicta of Dunphy J. and Joske .L in Re Municipal Officers (V~ctoria) Ak-ard

- 1959 (1962) 4 F.L.B. 4 2 G at 441 and h45 but of course the submissions

msde t o me were n o t considered in depth i n t h a t case i t being

unnecessary for that to be done.

It is t o be obserwd tha t clause 21 does much more than

merely f i x a per iod of not ice to be given to the employee on

te rmina t ion of h i s se rv ice . The SUbJeCt matter of c lause 21

i s e s s e n t i a l l y t h a t of termination of employment broadly

considered, it i s headed I'Resignations and Dismissal S" D There

i s no o ther provis ion i n the award provlding f o r terminat ion. It

dea ls with termination by either the employing authority o r t h e

employee. It provides -chat each par ty may terminate the

employment by givi l ig not ice , l n the case of the Shire Clerk of

.1

four veeks. The c l e rk may no t l eave h i s emplogment until he has

g i v e n n o t i c e i n w r l t i n g of h i s i n t e n t i o n t o do so and "that perlod'l

has expired. Tnus, s o f a r a s t h e a v a r d i s concerned the authority's

11

on ly r igh t t o t e rmina te the c l e r k ' s employment is by g iv ing four

weeks not lce and tha t right is s t a t e d t o be sub jec t t o the p ro -

v i s ions of the Act. In o ther words t emina t ion unde r the

award may on ly t ake p l ace sub jec t t o the p rov i s ions o f t he Act

s o fa r a s t hey dea l with t h a t m a t t e r . They do deal with that matter

by providing that where t h e r e is an inqui ry pursuant to s.158

(5 ) (a ) t he re is t o be no termination of t h e c l e r k ' s employment

except pursuan-t t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s of s.158(7), a f t e r a report has

been received by and read by the Council of the Shire . / The

provis ions of the Act dea l wit? the ques t ion of te rmnat ion not

on ly wi th r e spec t t o the tme when the Council may terminate the

ernployment but x r i t h respect to remunerat ion of the clerk during

,

the per lod of his suspension. The provls ion states t h a t i t

shall be determined by t h e a r b i t r a t o r who held the inquiry.

In this case the arbi t ra tor determined there should be no such

remuneration.

I t is contemplatedbyclause2L that before notice of termination

i s given thereunder the s ta tutory modif icat ions o f the terms of

l

the cont rac t o f employment which a re lnevi tab ly involved i n the

implementation of those procedures according to s.158 during

the period of suspermion will. have applied and have taken effect

In the pa r t i cu la r ca se . It is subject to the operat ion of those

modl f ica t lons tha t t e rmmat ion pursuant to c lause 21 i s , according

to the te rms of that c l a u s e i t s e l f , t o proceed. It i s n o t t o

v ,

be Thought t h a t it i s to proceed subJe ct tp some only of those

modif icat ions, so t h a t f o r i n s t ance t he p rov i s ions of s.158 I

concernirlg the remuneration payable during suspension might I

12

be exc :epted. Such a not ion woul d be i n c o n f l i c t VI 4 t h t h a t

general contemplat ion inherent in c lause 21 tha t be fo re

terminat lon thereunder the provis ions of s.158 concerning terminat-

i on T v i l l have been implemented. Suspension and arbitration are

i n t e g r a l components of the provls ions dea l ing wi th te rmina t ion .

Th i s s i t ua t ion s o es tabl ished accords wlth the object ive of

c lause 21 tinat employee 1s t o have fou r weeks not ice of

terminatiox and be paid i n respec t thereof and re f lec ts the

awareness of the award o f t he appropr i a t eness to the pa r t i cu la r

c lass of employment of persons employed i n l o c a l government of

spec ia l p rovis lons concern ing r igh ts of termination.

The modifications of the terms of ernploTyment co2tained

,

i n s.158 of the Act may be inconsis tent with clauses 6 and 22

but so f a r as t h a t is so t h e y g a i n t h e i r a u t h o r i t y from clause 21.

It may be thought that as vha t is t o be In te rpre ted i s an award

and no t an Act of Parliament some l e s s p a r t i c u l a r i t y and

precision of expression is t o be anticipated. Accordingly

grea te r s ign i f icance may be accorded t o s p e c i a l p r o v i s l o n s i n

t h e i r r e l a t i o n t o g e n e r a l p r o v i s i o n s . I t may be sa id the re fo re

t h a t i n this award the absence of e,xpress qualiTying vords i n

clauses such as 6 and 22 has no s ign i f i cance i n t he

presence of the qualifying words which do appear i n clause 21

which dea l s w i th the spec i f i c sub jec t o f termmation.

When the procedures prescr ibed by s.158 of t h e Act a r e

implemented the clerk may be given four weeks not lce , vhlch, but

L

for the condi t ion ln t roduced in to c lause 21 by the vords

Itsubject tcj the p rov l s ions of the Local Government Act1',

could have beln given vhen he was suspended. Those .c.o-rds

13

postpone the r ight to not ice for the espress purpose of

a l lowing the prcvis ions of s.158 to opera te on the employment

according to the terms thereof . Whether he i s remunerated

o r no t fo r t he pe r iod of suspension i s determined, pursuant

t o t h e award, by the a rb i t r a to r , bu t he s t i l l receives

four weeks not ice .

Accordingly, i t i s my view that the proper conclusion

i s t h a t t h e award i t s e l f , i n t e r p r e t e d as a whole, provides

that during the per iod of suspension the remuneration of the

c l e rk depends upon the appl ica t ion of the provisions of s.158

t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p of employer and employee between the

I

respondent and Hr. Laphan End tha t in the circumstances 110

,

remuneration was	payable t o him pursuant t o t h e award during
tha t per iod .

In t h e r e s u l t t h e summons here in must be dismissed.

I c e r t l f y t h a t t h i s and the 12

precedlng pages are a t rue copy o f the

Reasom f o r J u d g m e n t h e r e i n o f h i s H o n o u r

Kr. Jus t lce 5w A &

5