AUSTRALIAN TEXTILE WORKERS' UNION AND OTHERS V. ALEXANDRIA SPINNING MILLS LTD. AND OTHERS 13/1931

AUSTRALIAN TEXTILE WORKERS' UNION AND ORS, V. ALEXANDRIA ETC MILLS LTD &ors

SUDGMELT . STARKE J

Summons under Section 21AA of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbi- tration Act 1904-1930, for a decision on the question whether a dispute exists or is threatened impending or prohable as an industrial dispute ex- tending beyond the limits of any one State, between the Alexandria Spip- ning Mills Ltd and other employers on the one hand, and the Australian Tex-

tile Workers' U

ion and a'large number of persons in the employ of the said employers on the other.

So far as the question involves any matter of law, the following propos tions may now be regarded as settled: ~ 1. The dispute must arise out of the disagreement of the parties concerning their own industrial relations.

2. The dispute must be real and genuine, and whether it be real and genuine is always a question of fact.

3, The diswute must exist in two or more States, or in other words extend over Australian territory comprised within two or more States (Collieries Case 42 C.L.R. F5E) .

The employers are engaged in the textile industry in New South Wales, and all have mills and factories there. The Analgamated Textiles (Austra- lia) Ltd., one of the employers, also established, in January 1931, 4 4

factory at Wodonga in the State of Victoria, and employs there a few person about nine or ten, all told. The other employerg, however, have no mills | or factories in Victoria, and no employees in any State but New South Wales. Altogether some 5,000 persons are employed by the New South Wales employers in the textile industry. The employees in New South Wales are working' under awarde made pureuant to the State Industrial Arbitration Acts, 1912-17, whilst those employed by Amalgamated Textiles (Australia) Ltd at , @wodonga are given the benefits of the 'same awards, though they do not ex- tend to Victoria. In Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and ¥estern Australia, employers and employees in the textile industry are working