| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 113/04 |
| Hearing date | 3 Aug 2004 |
| Determination date | 13 September 2004 |
| Member | P Cheyne |
| Representation | T Wilton ; J Gibbs |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Griffin and Ors v The Southland Times a division of Fairfax New Zealand Ltd |
| Other Parties | Latta, New Zealand Amalgamated Engineering Printing & Manufacturing Union |
| Summary | BARGAINING - BREACH OF GOOD FAITH - Bargaining between second applicant union and respondent – Union alleged breach of duty of good faith by seeking to undermine union membership and collective bargaining – Agreement of lump sum payment to address claim for back-dating pay – Memo to non-union staff from respondent’s general manager stated they would not be disadvantaged by being on individual employment agreements - Memo stated new salary and performance review process with staff to receive bonus payment to reflect employees’ personal contribution to the success of the company – GM intended bonus payment to ensure non-union staff did not see themselves as missing out on union member's lump sum payment – GM at least partly motivated by desire to discourage view that employees would benefit by being union members – Breach of good faith – Declaration of breach of good faith - UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - First applicants alleged inference that they did not personally contribute to success of respondent unjustified action - No unjustified disadvantage |
| Result | Declaration of breach of good faith made ; Application dismissed (Unjustified disadvantage) ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s4(5);ERA s160(3) |
| Cases Cited | Alliance Freezing Co (Southland) Ltd v NZ Amalgamated Engineering etc IUOW [1989] 3 NZILR 785;Carter Holt Harvey Limited v National Distribution Union Incorporated [2002] 1 ERNZ 239 |
| Number of Pages | 6 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 113_04.pdf [pdf 539 KB] |