A RECENT union attempt to use the enterprise orders created by WA’s new industrial relations laws has highlighted the Australian Industrial Relations Commission’s unwillingness to engage in State-based industrial relations issues unless some form of Federal IR arrangement is in place.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union applied to the WA Industrial Relations Commission for an enterprise order after unsuccessful attempts to get Solahart to agree to a collective enterprise agreement under the State IR system.
Solahart had been keen to set up a nonunion Federal certified agreement with its employees.
Under WA’s amended Industrial Relations Act the WAIRC can force a result where either party involved refuses to bargain “in good faith”.
These enterprise orders are not available under the Federal system.
Under the Federal system the AIRC has no provision to force a result in a bargaining process, however, unions can take protected industrial action during the bargaining period.
Solahart went to the AIRC asking it to restrain the WAIRC from dealing with the enterprise order application.
However, on November 7 the AIRC denied Solahart’s request.
It is understood that the AMWU was also pursuing action against the company in the Federal IR system.
Solahart argued that if an enterprise order was made it would not only be bound by State jurisdiction but also vulnerable to industrial action and further proceedings in the Federal sphere. It argued that the AMWU was “jurisdiction hopping”.
While this was happening, Solahart was party to a demarcation dispute between the Australian Workers Union and the AMWU.
The AWU wanted to cover some of Solahart’s workers while the AMWU was contesting that it had traditional coverage.
Minter Ellison partner Bruno Di Girolami said the AIRC had come close to granting Solahart’s request because of the jurisdiction hopping claims and the demarcation dispute but had dismissed it because the company had traditionally been covered by WA industrial agreements.
“Essentially a business has to have some connection to the Federal system to have a better chance of getting the AIRC to stop the WAIRC issuing enterprise orders,” he said.
