Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: The Recorded Media Industry Union of New South Wales Application by The Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales to cancel registration as an Industrial Organisation under s 225(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 [2012] NSWIRComm 8 Hearing dates: 11 October 2011, 16 November 2011, 6 December 2011 Decision date: 28 February 2012 Jurisdiction: Industrial Court of NSW Before: Boland J, President, Haylen J, Backman J Decision: (a) the registration of the Recorded Media Industry Union of New South Wales is cancelled pursuant to the provisions of s 22 7(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996; (b) the cancellation of the registration of the Recorded Media Industry Union of New South Wales shall take effect from the date of this decision. Pursuant to the provisions of s 232 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996, the Industrial Registrar shall record in the register kept under Ch 5, Pt 5 the cancellation of the registration of the RMIU effective from the date of this decision. Catchwords: INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996 - s 225, s 226, s 227 - application to cancel registration of registered union - defunct organisation - arrangements whereby applicant union serviced industrial needs of members of defunct union - application granted Legislation Cited: Industrial Relations Act 1996 Cases Cited: The Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales: Application for alteration of Rules pursuant to s 245 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 [2011] NSWIRComm 12 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Australian Workers Union of New South Wales Representation: G Beard Industrial Officer (AWU) File Number(s): IRC 1548 of 2011 Judgment 1The Australian Workers' Union of New South Wales ("the AWU) has made application pursuant to the provisions of s 225(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 ("the Act") for the cancellation of the registration of the Recorded Media Industry Union of New South Wales ("RMIU"). The matter was originally listed before Haylen J: his Honour directed the case management of the application and then received evidence and submissions on the substantive application before referring it to the President pursuant to the provisions of s 193(1) of the Act. In recognition of the terms of s 153(2) of the Act, the President duly referred the application to this Full Bench to determine having regard to the evidence and submissions received by Haylen J. 2As may be expected, this application has a history concerning the relationship between the two registered organisations. The RMIU has been a registered organisation since 1927. With the advance of technology, its membership began to dwindle to the point where the union sought the assistance of the AWU to service the industrial needs of its members. Under that arrangement, the RMIU was administered by officers of the Technical Administrative and Professional Staff Branch ("TAPS") of the AWU. In late December 2007, the TAPS branch ceased operation and was absorbed into the general membership of the AWU. Under these arrangements, at that time, there were just over 91 financial members paying union subscriptions to the AWU Greater New South Wales branch and a handful of members paying their subscription to the Pt Kembla South Coast Southern Highlands branch of the AWU. 3Since 2007, the RMIU has not fulfilled its legislative obligations regarding the lodgement of financial records and the names of its officials. The executive of the AWU decided that the best process to maintain coverage and service of the members of the RMIU was to incorporate its eligibility rules into the AWU constitution and for the RMIU then to be de-registered. The "members" of the RMIU were kept informed of these proposals and did not oppose them. 4In March 2011, the Commission granted the application of the AWU to alter its rules pursuant to s 245 of the Industrial Relations Act to effectively grant it coverage of persons previously covered by the RMIU (see The Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales. Application for alteration of Rules pursuant to s 245 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 [2011] NSWIRComm 12]. The AWU provided evidence of membership of a significant number of persons who were eligible to join the RMIU. In the course of those proceedings the AWU informed the Commission that, once the AWU had achieved industrial coverage, it would then move to de-register the RMIU. 5The application for de-registration of the RMIU was publicly advertised and employees in the industry at the two sites where this work is performed were also informed of the AWU's application. Despite these notifications, no party has appeared to object to the application. 6In the proceedings for the cancellation of the registration of the RMIU, the AWU tendered various documents, including the affidavits that were filed in support of the AWU application for alteration to its rules. Those affidavits set out the background to the RMIU seeking the assistance of the AWU to service the industrial needs of its members with the ultimate intention of being de-registered and also established the defunct status of the RMIU. 7Having regard to this history and the evidence before the Court, it is appropriate that the application be granted. The Court is satisfied that the AWU has sufficient interest as an organisation to make this application in accordance with s 225(1) of the Act. The Court is also satisfied that the RMIU is a defunct organisation within the meaning of s 226(g) of the Act and is no longer effectively representative of its employee members within the meaning of s 226(e) of the Act. 8The orders of the Court, therefore, are as follows: (a) the registration of the Recorded Media Industry Union of New South Wales is cancelled pursuant to the provisions of s 22 7(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996; (b) the cancellation of the registration of the Recorded Media Industry Union of New South Wales shall take effect seven days after the date of this decision. Pursuant to the provisions of s 232 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996, the Industrial Registrar shall record in the register kept under Ch 5, Pt 5 the cancellation of the registration of the RMIU effective from the date as determined above. DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated. Decision last updated: 28 February 2012