Re A/asian Meat Industry Employees' Union; Ex parte Aberdeen Beef Co Pty Ltd [1993] HCA 17

High Court of Australia Mason C.J. Brennan, Deane, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ. Re A/asian Meat Industry Employees' Union; Ex parte Aberdeen Beef Co Pty Ltd [1993] HCA 17

ORDER Application for writ of prohibition dismissed.

Cur. adv. vult.

The following written judgments were delivered:—

1993 March 18 Mason C.J., Brennan, Deane, Dawson, Toohey and Gaudron JJ.

This application is made upon notice against the Industrial Relations Commission and the Australasian Meat Industry Employees' Union ("the Union") by a number of employers. They seek a writ of prohibition preventing the Union from proceeding further in an industrial dispute which the Commission found to exist between the employers and the Union. The employers contend that the Commission was wrong to find a single dispute, and that of those multiple disputes which may exist, only a small number extend beyond the limits of any one State, so bringing those disputes within the jurisdiction of the Commission. In addition, the employers say that any interstate dispute exists only on paper and is not a real and genuine dispute.

The dispute which the Commission found to exist was created when the Union served a log of claims on behalf of its members upon employers who failed to accede to these demands. Those employers owned or operated some thirty meat processing establishments, of which six were in Queensland, one was in South Australia and the remainder were in New South Wales. The New South Wales establishments were covered by awards of the Industrial Commission of New South Wales. It was suggested that the real purpose for serving the log was to bring the New South Wales establishments under a federal award. Since the service of the log, a number of establishments have changed hands or ceased to operate, including one Queensland establishment and the sole South Australian establishment. According to the applicant employers, the reduction in the number of operating establishments outside New South Wales reinforces their argument.