By MATHEW DEARNALEY
A meat workers' union that had its formation costs paid by an employer has survived a challenge to its existence in an Employment Relations Act test case.
The Employment Court has found that costs of more than $10,000 contributed by Universal Beef Packers to an in-house union set
up at its Te Kuiti plant did not compromise the union's independence.
A full bench of three judges found that the Te Kuiti Beef Workers' Union had operated at arm's length from the company since it was formed last year, despite having its legal and training costs paid for at the outset.
The decision has dealt a blow to the established Aotearoa Meat Workers' Union, which took the newcomer to court, claiming the company had set it up to split the workforce and negotiate a sub-standard pay deal.
Judge Graeme Colgan, in a decision on behalf of himself and fellow judges Bruce Palmer and Barrie Travis, accepted that a group of workers had intended forming a new union even without financial assistance.
The employer's assistance merely accelerated the process.
He said this followed disaffection with the established union, which had run into resistance trying to gain a foothold in the plant under the old Employment Contracts Act.
The workers sought advice from the company's former managing director, John Corner, who the judge acknowledged "found it convenient" not to allow the Aotearoa union an active presence on the site.
Mr Corner moved quickly after consulting the Northern Employers and Manufacturers' Association to engage a Hamilton law firm, which organised meetings with the workers and sent the bill to his company.
The company also paid for an employment relations consultant to train the new union's officials in good-faith bargaining principles under the new industrial legislation.
But Judge Colgan said that, contrary to some perceptions that conflict characterised relations between unions and employers, many companies saw benefits from having a unionised workforce. Supportive arrangements did not necessarily compromise independence.
He rejected the Aotearoa union's claim that the employment deal negotiated with the newcomer was substantially inferior to other meat industry documents, saying the plant's employees were among the highest earning meatworkers despite a lack of overtime pay.
The judge described the established union's case as patronising and said the Employment Relations Act encouraged the formation of new and small unions under its freedom of association objective.
About 80 new unions have been established since the end of 1999.
Although unions were required as a condition of registration to maintain a healthy independence from employers, the new legislative requirement for parties to deal with one another in good faith encouraged notions of cooperation in attainment of common goals.
Judge Colgan cited as evidence of the new union's independence a claim it is making for about $500,000 in wage arrears from the company.
Aotearoa union secretary Graham Cooke said last night that his union was deeply disappointed with the decision and would meet its own members at the plant today to discuss whether to lodge an appeal.
He said the reason for high wages at the plant was very high productivity. This put workers at risk of accidents and "burn out" while giving the company an unfair advantage over rivals, Mr Cooke said.
Officials of the new union and the company could not be reached for comment.
By MATHEW DEARNALEY
A meat workers' union that had its formation costs paid by an employer has survived a challenge to its existence in an Employment Relations Act test case.
The Employment Court has found that costs of more than $10,000 contributed by Universal Beef Packers to an in-house union set
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