BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Limited v. Australian Workers' Union [2005] NSWIRComm 1051

Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales

CITATION: BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Limited v. Australian Workers' Union [2005] NSWIRComm 1051

APPLICANT BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Limited

PARTIES: RESPONDENT Australian Workers' Union

FILE NUMBER(S): 7187 of 2004

CORAM: Connor C

industrial action - revival of dispute orders CATCHWORDS:

Industrial Relations Act 1996 LEGISLATION CITED:

HEARING DATES: 04/11/2005

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 04/11/2005

EXTEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 04/11/2005

APPLICANT Jack de Flamingh Blake Dawson Waldron LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:

RESPONDENT Darryl Anderson Australian Workers' Union

DECISION:

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

CORAM: CONNOR C

Monday, 11 April, 2005

Matter No IRC 7187 of 2004

BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Limited and the Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales Branch

Dispute notification under S.130 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1996 re site agreement

SUPPLEMENTARY DECISION

[2005] NSWIRComm 1051

1 Pursuant to the provisions of S.130 of the 1996 Industrial Relations Act, a notification of an industrial dispute was lodged for and on behalf of BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Limited over a series of strikes and bans imposed by operators, members of the Australian Workers' Union, in its bulk operations department at Port Kembla. The employees are presently covered by the Port Kembla Operations Enterprise Agreement (unregistered) which exceeded its nominal term on Friday, 6 August, 2004. Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement had progressed but had stalled over an issue relating to the appropriate method for bonus payments. Those negotiations have also been accompanied by a series of work stoppages of short duration and, according to BlueScope Steel, an overtime ban and a "go slow" campaign. The AWU has claimed that the series of work stoppages were essentially over a range of safety issues but BlueScope Steel disputes that.