Ali -V- Pofade Pty Ltd T/A Grace Bros Cleaning Service [1996] NSWEOT

Equal Opportunity Tribunal of New South Wales

CITATION: Ali -V- Pofade Pty Ltd T/A Grace Bros Cleaning Service [1996] NSWEOT

COMPLAINANT: Shaukat Ali

RESPONDENT: Pofade Pty Ltd t/a Grace Bros Cleaning Service

NUMBER: 39 of 1996

Mr Reginald Bartley AM ( Judicial Member ) TRIBUNAL: Mr M Alt Mr L Lau

GROUNDS OF COMPLAINT: Discrimination on the grounds of race in the area of employment

DATES OF HEARING: 10/03/1996 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 10/03/1996

Complainant: Mr S Collingridge

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: Respondent: Mr S Fowler Mr A Fox

JUDGMENT IN FAVOUR OF:

Mr Shaukat Ali, ("the complainant") an Indian Fijian, made a written complaint of racial discrimination to the Anti Discrimination Board on 16 May 1989 and is pursuing the complaint under part 2, section 7 of the Anti Discrimination Act.

The complaint concerns treatment of the complainant by Pofade Pty Ltd trading as Grace Bros Cleaning Service ("the respondent") during his employment as a carpet cleaner.

The complainant was employed apparently by the respondent initially in the auto detailing section from September 1987 to March 1988 and then in the carpet cleaning section from November 1988 to May 1989.

A particular incident in May 1989 was the impetus for the complaint to the Board. On Wednesday 3 May 1989, the complainant was attending a carpet cleaning job in a Mosman house. The complainant's supervisor on that occasion, a Mr Alipio Jones was angry with the complainant for telling the customer that Mr Jones "had tried to con the customer by watering down the solution that was used to spray on the carpet".