| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 172/10 |
| Determination date | 28 October 2010 |
| Member | P R Stapp |
| Representation | P McBride ; A Caisley |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | The New Zealand Tramways and Public Passenger Transport Employees Union Inc & Ors v Wellington City Transport Ltd |
| Other Parties | Rupapera, Pakau |
| Summary | PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - Application for removal to Employment Court (“EC”) - Dispute as to interpretation and application of collective employment agreement (“CEA”) - CEA provided for discretionary retirement and resignation gratuities - Second and third applicants claimed should have been paid larger gratuity than paid - Applicants claimed important question of law likely to arise other than incidentally, case of such nature and urgency that in public interest be removed, and in all circumstances matter should be removed - Respondent opposed removal - Respondent claimed no important question of law, no urgency and no public interest shown, no related or similar proceedings before EC, and no other grounds justifying removal - Applicants claimed was question whether terms “retirement” and “retiring” could properly be limited to employees ceasing employment for age related reasons in circumstances where term not defined in CEA - Authority found case law suggested issues around retirement and resigning gratuities well settled by courts - Found issues around interpreting and applying CEA were usual type of matter that came before Authority - Found no important question of law likely to arise other than incidentally - Authority found matter essentially one between two individuals and single employer - Found proceedings only concerned parties and therefore no identifiable public interest or urgency - Found if was urgency could be accommodated by Authority - Applicants claimed challenge likely - Authority found respondent had opposed removal and had not commented on possibility of challenge - Grounds for removal not made out - Application for removal declined |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Practice & Procedure |
| Statutes | ERA s178;ERA s178(2)(a);ERA s178(2)(b);ERA s178(2)(d) |
| Number of Pages | 5 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 172_10.pdf [pdf 17 KB] |