Electrolux Home Products Pty Ltd v Australian Workers' Union [2004] HCA 40

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

GLEESON CJ,

McHUGH, GUMMOW, KIRBY, HAYNE, CALLINAN AND HEYDON JJ

ELECTROLUX HOME PRODUCTS PTY LIMITED APPELLANT

AND

THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS' UNION & ORS RESPONDENTS

Electrolux Home Products Pty Ltd v Australian Workers' Union

[2004] HCA 40

2 September 2004

S245/2003, A211/2003 and A212/2003

ORDER

1. Appeals allowed. 2. Set aside the orders of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia made on 21 June 2002 and, in place thereof, order that each of the appeals to the Full Court Nos S6/2002, S11/2002 and N18/2002 be dismissed.

On appeal from the Federal Court of Australia

Representation:

F Parry SC with C B O'Grady for the appellant (instructed by Cutler Hughes & Harris)

S C Rothman SC with S J Howells for the first to seventh respondents (instructed by Lieschke & Weatherill, Taylor & Scott and Moloney & Partners)

H J Dixon SC with M P McDonald for the eighth respondent (instructed by Blake Dawson & Waldron)

Notice: This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.

CATCHWORDS

Electrolux Home Products Pty Ltd v Australian Workers' Union

Industrial law (Cth) – Industrial action – Whether industrial action protected action – Industrial action in support of claims in respect of proposed certified agreement – Where proposed agreement included bargaining agent's fee payable to unions – Where bargaining agent's fee to be paid by all employees including non-union members – Whether bargaining agent's fee provision about matter pertaining to the relationship between employer and employee – Whether proposed agreement an agreement about matters pertaining to the relationship between an employer and its employees – Whether "protected action" in s 170ML of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) includes industrial action in support of a proposed agreement that is not capable of certification under Div 4 of Pt VIB.