Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union (AMWU) v O-I Operations (Australia) Pty Ltd [2019] FCA 1272

Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union (AMWU) v O-I Operations (Australia) Pty Ltd [2019] FCA 1272

The applicants were entitled to interlocutory injunctive relief because they established a strong prima facie case that the respondent's deployment of management and salaried staff to perform the relevant maintenance work breached cl 17 of Appendix A to the enterprise agreement and thereby contravened s 50 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Although the adverse action case was very weak, the respondent's conduct curtailed the intended economic pressure of the Maintenance Employees' protected industrial action in a way not compensable by damages, and the balance of convenience favoured preserving that impact. Any serious economic consequences for the respondent could be addressed by an...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
09 August 2019
Procedural Posture
Industrial Law Proceeding Alleging Contraventions of Ss 50, 340(1) and 346 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (cth) / Interlocutory Application for Injunctive Relief
Outcome
Application for interlocutory injunctive relief granted substantially in favour of the applicants; no order as to costs.
Legal Topics
['interlocutory Injunction' 'protected Industrial Action' 'enterprise Agreement Compliance' 'adverse Action' 'balance of Convenience' 'prima Facie Case']
['industrial Law' 'employment and Industrial Relations'] ['interlocutory Injunction' 'protected Industrial Action' 'enterprise Agreement Compliance' 'adverse Action' 'balance of Convenience' 'prima Facie Case']

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Procedural Posture

Industrial Law Proceeding Alleging Contraventions of Ss 50, 340(1) and 346 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (cth) / Interlocutory Application for Injunctive Relief

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the respondent's deployment of management or salaried staff to perform maintenance tasks usually performed by employees covered by the O-I Melbourne - Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2016 breached cl 17 of Appendix A to that agreement and s 50 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)." 'Whether the deployment of management or salaried staff amounted to adverse action for prohibited reasons under ss 340(1) and 346 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).' 'Whether the applicants established a sufficiently strong prima facie case for interlocutory injunctive relief.' 'Whether the balance of convenience favoured restraining the respondent from requiring or permitting staff employees to perform the relevant maintenance work pending trial or further order.']

Ratio Decidendi

The applicants were entitled to interlocutory injunctive relief because they established a strong prima facie case that the respondent's deployment of management and salaried staff to perform the relevant maintenance work breached cl 17 of Appendix A to the enterprise agreement and thereby contravened s 50 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Although the adverse action case was very weak, the respondent's conduct curtailed the intended economic pressure of the Maintenance Employees' protected industrial action in a way not compensable by damages, and the balance of convenience favoured preserving that impact. Any serious economic consequences for the respondent could be addressed by an...

Court Disposition

Application for interlocutory injunctive relief granted substantially in favour of the applicants; no order as to costs.

Orders

  • ["For the period defined in order 2, the respondent, whether by itself, its employees or agents—and subject only to clause 17 of Appendix A to the O-I Melbourne - Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2016—is restrained from requiring or permitting any of its full-time, salaried employees, known as staff employees, to...