R v Findlay; Ex parte Commonwealth Steamship Owners' Association [1953] HCA 81

R v Findlay; Ex parte Commonwealth Steamship Owners' Association [1953] HCA 81

The first and second alternative claims for attendance money were not necessarily outside the definition of "industrial matter". Attendance by casual wharf clerks at the place of engagement in accordance with industry custom was a regular preliminary condition of actual employment and part of the procedure by which labour was made available to employers. The extended definitions of employer and employee, and the specific reference to monetary allowances for time when an employee is not actually working, meant that the mere fact that payment related to unsuccessful attendance did not exclude the claims from the commissioner's authority. Although the third alternative claim imposing joint...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Procedural Posture
Application for Writ of Prohibition Directed to a Conciliation Commissioner / Motion to Make Absolute an Order Nisi
Outcome
Order nisi for writ of prohibition discharged with costs.
Legal Topics
['industrial Dispute' 'industrial Matters' 'attendance Money' 'casual Wharf Clerks' 'conciliation and Arbitration' 'jurisdiction of Conciliation Commissioner' 'writ of Prohibition']
['industrial Law' 'constitutional Law'] ['industrial Dispute' 'industrial Matters' 'attendance Money' 'casual Wharf Clerks' 'conciliation and Arbitration' 'jurisdiction of Conciliation Commissioner' 'writ of Prohibition']

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Procedural Posture

Application for Writ of Prohibition Directed to a Conciliation Commissioner / Motion to Make Absolute an Order Nisi

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether any of the alternative claims for attendance money to casual wharf clerks related to an "industrial matter" as defined by s. 4 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-1952.' "Whether the conciliation commissioner had authority to proceed with the union's application to vary the award." 'Whether a proposed joint and several liability of all employers in a port for attendance money could lawfully be adopted.']

Ratio Decidendi

The first and second alternative claims for attendance money were not necessarily outside the definition of "industrial matter". Attendance by casual wharf clerks at the place of engagement in accordance with industry custom was a regular preliminary condition of actual employment and part of the procedure by which labour was made available to employers. The extended definitions of employer and employee, and the specific reference to monetary allowances for time when an employee is not actually working, meant that the mere fact that payment related to unsuccessful attendance did not exclude the claims from the commissioner's authority. Although the third alternative claim imposing joint...

Court Disposition

Order nisi for writ of prohibition discharged with costs.

Orders

  • ['Order nisi for writ of prohibition discharged with costs.']