ENTERPRISE BARGAINING – protected action ballot – s.437 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for protected action ballot order relating to certain employees of Nillumbik Shire Council (Council) – ANMF sought approval for members to be balloted on whether they would undertake stoppages of up to five minutes in order to refer clients and/or their families to ANMF campaign material – ANFM submitted FW Act required nature of proposed industrial action to be included in application for ballot order – ANMF submitted that the activities undertaken during the stoppage would not change the nature of the action or alter its character such that it would not be industrial action – Council objected to part of the question on grounds that it is not industrial action as defined by the FW Act – Council submitted that the stoppage would constitute industrial action but that by ‘loading’ the question with the specified activities the ANMF ‘infected’ the question with activities that are not industrial action – Commission satisfied that defining the activity to be taken during the stoppage does not alter the nature of the action – Ambulance Victoria and UFU distinguished – All Hallow’s distinguished – actions put in question are co-dependent – unless campaign material is distributed, any such stoppage will not be industrial action authorised by the ballot, and without the stoppage the material cannot be distributed – protected action ballot made in manner proposed by ANMF. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation v Nillumbik Shire Council
