Notification by Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (New South Wales Branch) of a dispute with Pasminco Broken Hill Mine re Enterprise Agreement; Notification by Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (New South Wales Branch) of a dispute with Pasminco Broken Hill Mine re different redundancy payments at the Broken Hill site; The Pasminco Broken Hill Anti-Discrimination Redundancy Award 2001; The Pasminco Broken Hill (Terms and Conditions) Award 2001 [2001] NSWIRComm 215

Procedural Posture

Industrial Dispute Notifications and Applications for New Awards / Decision After Compulsory Conference Proceedings and Arbitration Hearing

Legal Issues

1. 1 ["Whether the Commission should make a first award increasing redundancy benefits for wages employees at Pasminco's Broken Hill mine." "Whether the Union established a special case justifying redundancy benefits above the Commission's minimum redundancy standards and a departure from existing conditions." 'Whether wages employees should receive the same redundancy benefits as single status or salaried employees on the basis of alleged discrimination or parity.' 'Whether the current redundancy arrangements should be altered in light of the impending exhaustion, sale and closure of the Broken Hill mine and the limited alternative employment prospects for employees.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Union did not establish that wages employees were entitled to parity with single status or salaried employees merely because those employees had superior redundancy benefits, nor was the Commission satisfied that different redundancy benefits proved unlawful discrimination based on union membership. However, the impending exhaustion of the ore body, the proposed sale of Pasminco's mining interests, the effective end of mining in Broken Hill, limited alternative employment opportunities, depressed housing conditions, the employees' age and long service profile, and the time elapsed since the last review of redundancy benefits constituted unique and exceptional circumstances amounting...

Court Disposition

Special case established in part; first redundancy award to be made with benefits lower than those claimed by the Union; redundancy dispute and award application concluded, with the general award matters listed for mention.

Orders

• ['The parties are to confer in order to draft an award reflecting the conclusions in the decision.' 'The draft award is to be filed with the Commission within twenty-one days.' "The award is to provide one week's pay for each year of service, to a maximum of twenty weeks." 'The award is to provide a further 25% for...