| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | [2011] NZERA Wellington 151 |
| Hearing date | 4 Aug 2011 |
| Determination date | 30 September 2011 |
| Member | D Asher |
| Representation | S Mitchell ; T Cleary |
| Location | Napier |
| Parties | Pohio and Ors v Progressive Meats Ltd |
| Other Parties | Te Rito, Berg, Blane, Gerbes, Cooke, Waldon, Campbell, Aird, Brown, Stephens, Wallace, Hilton |
| Summary | DISPUTE - Interpretation of collective employment agreement (CEA") - Whether applicants laid off in manner that breached CEA - Applicants employed in boning department in ovine and venison meat export plant and all bar one in boning room - Applicants claimed lay off did not take place on basis of skill as provided for in CEA - Applicants claimed skill levels should be interpreted as referring to holding of modules obtained through respondent's skill based training system - Respondent claimed computerised system properly and objectively assessed each individual's productivity based on equal weighting of speed and yield - Respondent claimed system met requirements of CEA to lay off according to skill levels so each department operated at most efficient level of productivity - Respondent claimed any other approach would result in less efficient levels of productivity - Authority found parties had different views of meaning of "skill" - Found skill required was ensuring sufficient people to operate department at most efficient level of productivity - Found both parties equally mistaken in adopting too restrictive approach to meaning of disputed words - Found reasonable person would conclude objective meaning of words required respondent on case by case basis to assess modules held by each individual as well as objective measure including computerised system - Found case by case approach reinforced by fact performance of one applicant not measured by computerised system because applicant packer not boner - Found respondent should have regard to all matters relevant to determining skill in context of ensuring sufficient people retrained to operate each department at most efficient level of productivity - Found respondent should undertake case by case assessment in first instance" |
| Result | Question answered ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Dispute |
| Number of Pages | 6 |
| PDF File Link: | 2011_NZERA_Wellington_151.pdf [pdf 21 KB] |