Restrictions OK
Jurisdiction Employment Relations Authority - Auckland
Reference No AA 305/07
Hearing date 2 Jul 2007
Determination date 03 October 2007
Member V Campbell
Representation T Kennedy ; D Alderslade & P White
Location Hamilton
Parties Public Service Association v Bay of Plenty District Health Board & Ors
Other Parties Northland District Health Board, Tairawhiti District Health Board, Waikato District Health Board
Summary DISPUTE – Parties disagreed over application of multi employer collective agreement (“MECA”) - Clauses concerned salary scales and pay progression for various roles at respondents – Dispute arose because nationally agreed terms of settlement (“NTS”), signed off by all DHBs and applicant, subsequently altered when regional MECA put together – Changes significantly affected meaning of NTS and not ratified or rejected by applicant’s members – Purpose of NTS to provide some common terms, including salary scale, across all DHBs irrespective of other conditions in MECA – Question whether MECA had effect as collective agreement due to failure to properly ratify it – Ratification meetings held before negotiations complete – Only terms and conditions ratified were those in NTS – MECA in writing and signed by all parties, although applicant should not have done so as not ratified – However, Authority prohibited from cancelling or varying collective agreement – When parties signed off on NTS intended terms would be incorporated into MECA without change – Authority deferred to terms of ratified settlement and determined appropriate pay scales for disputed classes of employees and application of progression clauses
Result Questions answered ; Costs reserved
Main Category Dispute
Statutes ERA s32;ERA s51;ERA s54;ERA s163
Cases Cited Armstrong v Attorney-General [1995] 1 ERNZ 43;NZ Medical Laboratory Workers v Hamilton Medical Laboratory [1998] 1 ERNZ 162;New Zealand Tramways etc Union Inc v Transportation Auckland Limited and Cityline (New Zealand Limited) [2006] 1 ERNZ 1005
Number of Pages 13
PDF File Link: aa 305_07.pdf [pdf 68 KB]