INDUSTRIAL ACTION – termination of protected industrial action – s.424 Fair Work Act 2009 – application by Minister for Industrial Relations for the State of Victoria (the Minister) to terminate industrial action being engaged in by Specialist Diagnostic Services Pty Ltd (t/a Dorevitch Pathology) (Dorevitch); the Health Services Union of Australia (trading as Health Workers Union) (HWU); and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) – background to matter – on 15 June 2017 Commission granted protected action ballot order with respect to members of the HWU employed by Dorevitch Pathology and who would be covered by proposed agreement – proposed industrial action supported by majority in ballot – HWU served notices on Dorevitch Pathology indicating intention to take action in form of 24 hour and 12 hour bans on performance of work throughout August and September 2017 – s.424 of FW Act requires Commission make order suspending or terminating protected industrial action being engaged in or threatened, impending or probable if satisfied that protected industrial action would threaten to endanger life, personal safety or health, or welfare, of population or of part of it or cause significant damage to Australian economy or important part of it – Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association considered – regard had to meaning of terms in s.424(1) including reference to ‘welfare’ of the population and concept of endangerment – commonly used words and expressions which are widely understood in community and which should be given their ordinary meaning – conduct that puts person’s physical or mental state at risk of material detriment, or materially hinders or prevents improvement in person’s poor physical or mental state, may qualify as conduct that endangers personal health or safety – impact of conduct must, however, be more than merely to cause inconvenience to persons concerned, it must be such as to expose them to danger – uncontested evidence given for the Minister – Commission satisfied on basis of evidence pathology services are critical component of delivery of health care services to population – also accepted that disruption to pathology services may have adverse impact on general provision of health care services – adverse impact threatened to endanger life, personal safety and health of part of population – satisfied that, should industrial action resume, it would further adversely affect provision of health care services through delays in pathology services in hospitals and through community collection centres – satisfied industrial action a probability – no basis to assume that threat did not exist and such threat would re-emerge should current suspension Order be lifted – satisfied, on basis of evidence, that industrial action would threaten to endanger life, personal safety or health, or welfare of part of population through limitation on availability of pathology services – Order issued. Minister for Industrial Relations for the State of Victoria v Specialist Diagnostic Services P/L t/a Dorevitch Pathology and Ors
