| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 68/10 |
| Hearing date | 9 Feb 2010 |
| Determination date | 15 February 2010 |
| Member | V Campbell |
| Representation | S Mitchell ; K Dunn |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Maritime Union of New Zealand v Ports of Auckland Ltd |
| Summary | DISPUTE – GOOD FAITH – Respondent wished to engage employees on fixed term employment agreements for period of six months – Applicant considered fixed term agreements contrary to provisions of Collective Employment Agreement (“CEA”) – Applicant argued respondent breached good faith obligations – Applicant argued fixed term agreement established new category of employee – Coverage clauses of CEA provided employees were permanent full time, permanent part time or casual – Respondent claimed casual employees engaged on consecutive days and analogous to engagement of casual employee for short temporary engagement – Authority found offer to casual employees on terms and conditions already in existence within framework of CEA and not inconsistent with CEA as whole – Found only additional term was offer of fixed term – Found fixed term not incompatible with CEA as short term engagements already recognised through casual schedule – Found applicant previously invited respondent to employ previously declared surplus staff on fixed term agreements for one week – Found entering into fixed term employment agreements not inconsistent with CEA – Respondent claimed always clear about reasons for fixed term agreements – Found no breach of good faith obligations – Found applicant had no standing to bring claim – Found no fixed term agreements entered into – Applicant not party to individual employment agreements and only employees who entered agreements would have standing to bring claim |
| Result | Questions answered in favour of respondent ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Dispute |
| Statutes | ERA s4(4)(b);ERA s61;ERA s66 |
| Cases Cited | NZ Amalgamated Engineering v Energex [2006] ERNZ 749 |
| Number of Pages | 6 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 68_10.pdf [pdf 26 KB] |