Australian Workers' Union v Graziers' Association of New South Wales [1932] HCA 3

THE GRAZIERS' ASSOCIATION OF NEW )

HIGH COURT (1932.

[HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.]

THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS' UNION . APPLICANT;

AGAINST

SOUTH WALES AND OTHERS . . 5 P#SPONDENTS.

H.C. or A, Industrial Arbitration—Industrial dispute—Log served by employers claiming

1932.

a Matnoorwe,

Feb, 23.

Sypney, April 7.

Rich, Starke,

Dixon, Evatt and MeTiernan

minimum wage at stated rates "or such lower rates as may from time to time to the Court seem just" —Log served by employees claiming minimum wage at higher rate—Award fixing wage at an intermediate rate—Application by employers to reduce rate by ten per cent—Reduction of award below amount specified in employers' log—Jurisdiction of Arbitration Court—Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-1930 (No. 13 of 1904—No. 43 of 1930), secs. 21.4, 28 (3).

In 1927 an employers' organization served a log of demands upon the employees' organization, and prefaced the log by a letter requiring that all members of the employees' association then or thereafter to be employed by the members of the employers' organization should be paid at the rates set out in the log "or such lower rates as may from time to time to the Court seem just." For one class of work the employers' log specified the rate as 35s. per hundred. The employees' organization served a log on the employers' association and for the same class of work required a rate of 60s. per hundred to be paid. The Arbitration Court fixed 41s. per hundred for this class of work. Subsequently, the Arbitration Court reduced the rate to 32s, 6d. per hundred, a reduction therein of 20 per cent.

Held, by Rich, Starke and Dixon JJ. (Bvatt and McTiernan JJ. dissenting), that the reduction to an amount below the figure stipulated in the log was not beyond the powers of the Arbitration Court, as the words in the letter covering the employers' log " or such lower rates as may from time to time to the Court seem just" prevented the reduced rate being outside the ambit of the dispute between the parties.