Restrictions OK
Jurisdiction Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch
Reference No CA 194/08
Hearing date 14 Oct 2008
Determination date 18 December 2008
Member H Doyle
Representation T Wilton ; A Shaw
Location Invercargill
Parties New Zealand Amalgamated Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union v Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd
Summary DISPUTE – Interpretation of collective agreement (“CEA”) – Whether driving pool vans to and from workplace constituted work entitling employees to be paid – Applicant claimed “transport” included provision of driver to perform transportation under direction of respondent – Respondent claimed ordinary meaning of “transport” limited to provision of vehicle – Previous CEAs provided “employer will continue to provide transport” – Clause continued in new CEA – No agreement addressing whether employees paid for driving pool vans during CEA negotiations – Authority found natural and ordinary meaning of CEA limited to providing free pool vans for driving to and from workplace – Found no surrounding circumstances gave weight to applicant’s claim – Interpretation of CEA is words used as starting point then surrounding circumstances to “check” ordinary meaning – Question answered in favour of respondent
Result Question answered in favour of respondent ; Costs reserved
Main Category Dispute
Cases Cited Association of Staff in Tertiary Education Inc: ASTE Te Hau Takatini o Aotearoa v Hampton, Chief Executive of the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic [2002] 1 ERNZ 491
Number of Pages 7
PDF File Link: ca 194_08.pdf [pdf 27 KB]