The following is extracted from the full judgement issued 5 December 2007

Yabut & Ramirez v Dartbridge Welding Pty Ltd & Ors [2007] QADT 29 (5 December 2007)

CITATION:      Yabut & Ramirez v Dartbridge Welding Pty Ltd & Ors [2007] QADT 29
PARTIES:         ROY YABUT First Complainant

and
JUN RAMIREZ Third Complainant
and
DARTBRIDGE WELDING PTY LTD
First Respondent
and
DENNIS HENRY HICKMAN Third Respondent
and
WAYNE ROBERT HARRISON Fourth Respondent

FILE NOS:                  HEA06/143 and HEA06/145
PROCEEDING:            Final Hearing
DELIVERED ON:         5 December 2007
DELIVERED AT:          Brisbane
BEFORE:                     Member Boddice SC
HEARING DATES:       15, 16, 17, 18 and 31 October 2007
ORDER:                      1.                The Complaints are dismissed.

Findings:

I had the opportunity to observe both complainants. (Mr. Roy Yabut and Mr. Jun Ramirez) However, I am not satisfied they are reliable witnesses. (Mr. Roy Yabut and Mr. Jun Ramirez) I find their evidence on key issues to be inaccurate. (Mr. Roy Yabut and Mr. Jun Ramirez)

The third respondent gave evidence whilst he had strong views on some assertions being put to him, I did not consider him to be evasive or dishonest in his answers. (Mr. Dennis Hickman)

The fourth respondent was also subject to lengthy cross-examination. He impressed me as an honest and reasonable person. (Mr. Wayne Harrison)

The complainants’ submission that they were not informed of various matters prior to their employment is largely premised on an acceptance of their evidence that there was no discussion about the terms of their employment contracts at the seminars.

I do not accept that evidence. It is obvious from the photograph of the whiteboard there was a discussion about the hourly rate.

Having considered all of the evidence, I am not satisfied that either complainant’s employment with the first respondent was terminated on the ground of their Trade Union activity.

David Boddice SC
Member
Anti-Discrimination Tribunal Queensland

A Brisbane boss accused of using the Howard Government’s maligned industrial relations reforms to exploit foreign guestworkers has been vindicated, after the case was thrown out of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal.

The former director of metalwork manufacturer Dartbridge Welding Pty Ltd, Wayne Harrison said the company had gone broke fighting complaints by two Filipino welders who worked in its Brisbane factory in 2006.

The pair, among a group of 40 people brought to Australia by Dartbridge under the government’s 457 work visa program and employed on Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), claimed they were underpaid by thousands of dollars, forced to live in cramped and unsatisfactory accommodation and eventually sacked after they joined the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), which later launched legal action on their behalf.

The company has always denied mistreating the workers and insisted it had fully informed the men about the conditions awaiting them in Australia at a recruitment seminar in Manila.

It was a position backed by Anti-Discrimination Tribunal presiding Member David Boddice SC, who last week dismissed the workers’ complaint following a five-day hearing.

Mr Boddice found the men, Jun Ramirez and Roy Yabut, had been unreliable witnesses, giving differing accounts of what they were told at the seminar, including discussions about AWAs.

Nor was he satisfied the Filipino workers had been treated less favourably than any other Dartbridge employee under Work Choices.

“I accept that from the commencement of this new legislative regime, all new employees of the first respondent were offered employment under the same AWA contracts,” Mr Boddice said in his findings.

“The complainants sought to rely on the fact that (Dartbridge) paid other workers higher rates of pay. However, I accept (Dartbridge’s) evidence that these were workers who were employed prior to the commencement of the AWA regime. I am not satisfied the difference in payment was on the basis of the complainants’ race.”

Mr Boddice also found the workers had not been sacked as a result of their involvement with the AMWU, as several other guestworkers from the same group had also become members but remained in their jobs.

Speaking after the decision today, Mr Harrison said the victory was bittersweet.

Dartbridge, which spent $40,000 defending the complaints, is now in liquidation.

“This has basically killed a business that has been going for 26 years and had a turnover of $3 million,” Mr Harrison told brisbanetimes.com.au.

“My partner and I virtually couldn’t work for 12 months while dealing with this and our reputation has been ruined.

“I think the tribunal is a very fair medium for people to represent themselves … but there’s got to be better ways to resolve issues between employers and employees generally.”

Mr Harrison said “media hysteria” surrounding the case had not helped, fuelled by political controversy over the unpopular Work Choices laws and a concerted trade union campaign.

The two men, who have since gained employment elsewhere, have 28 days to launch an appeal.

Original Article can be found here:

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/brisbane-boss-cleared-of-exploiting-filipino-staff/2007/12/11/1197135419725.html

The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal of Queensland has rejected claims of racial and union discrimination against Dartbridge Welding.

The Queensland engineering firm had been accused of discriminating against Filipino workers.

The company’s former director says he hopes to put the racist stigma behind him. Former employees Roy Yabut and Jun Ramirez brought the action against the company after they were dismissed in October last year, shortly after joining the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

They were among 40 workers brought to Australia by the firm under 457 visas and claimed they were forced to sign unfair Australian Workplace Agreements. They also claimed they were charged exorbitant rent and transport costs by the company, despite as many as eight people sharing a four-bedroom house.

However, in his judgment tribunal member David Boddice SC found the men were unreliable witnesses and dismissed each of the discrimination claims.

Former Dartbridge director Wayne Harrison, whose father established the business, said the cost of defending the claims had destroyed the company. “This is a 26-year-old family business that at its height employed 50 people, turned over $3 million and is now in liquidation - that just shows you the power of negative publicity on a business,” Mr. Harrison told AAP.

He said he hoped to put the claims of racism behind him and still hoped to work closely with the Philippines with his recruitment company Australian Trades Pty Ltd. “When they talk about racism, that’s a pretty serious stigma and all I can now do is give the results now to people who want to read it,” he said.

AMWU secretary Andrew Dettmer said the union was “appalled” by the decision and was considering an appeal. “We are referring it to our lawyers for advice,” he said.

“We find it hard to believe that we’ve got a decision which has come down effectively accepting all of the testimony of the employer and virtually none of the members concerned.”

Original Article can be found here:

http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/firm-cleared-of-racial-discrimination-20071211-1gee.html

Published in Courier Mail, page 37; October 25, 2006

THERE is much more than meets the eye to the case of a Brisbane welding company accused last week of mistreating its Filipino workers.

The case is a gross misuse of union power.

When the story broke that Dartbridge Welding in outer Brisbane was supposedly abusing about 40 staff employed on 457 visas, union officials flew north in record time. That followed from the union was a series of untruths and half truths that presented the company in the most negative light possible while giving no credit to the substantial efforts by the company’s new owner to engage with the union and to address a number of union concerns.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union claimed the 457 visa workers were underpaid; charged $175 “rent” to live in substandard housing; three workers had been sacked for being in a union; staff had been threatened with dismissal and forced to sign AWAs they had not read; and staff had been held at the workplace against their will.

To set the record straight - they were being paid at levels which met the requirements of the 457 visa program and the $175 paid to the company’s previous ownership covered much more than “rent”. It also covered health insurance, all transport to and from work and between jobs in a minibus, all gas, water and electricity; accommodation in new not “basic” accommodation which was fully furnished and included a pool and other recreational facilities.

It needs to be understood the company’s former welding supervisor, Dennis Hickman, took over ownership of the company only on the day the story first appeared. He undertook to do an audit of employment arrangements and has done everything he can to address the concerns put forward by the union including increasing the payments to workers.

For example, he has reduced the rent, transport and utilities charge to $100 and the company will cover the workers’ health costs on top of that amount. He has told employees they are free to stay in housing rented by the company or move to private accommodation. When he was telling workers of this offer at a paid meeting during working hours the union threatened to call the police while outrageously suggesting the workers were held against their will.

I understand union officials have been disrupting entry to the Dartbridge workshop and refusing to pass on to the workers offers made by the company.

One union claim that Hickman finds highly distressing is the suggestion that three former workers lost their jobs due to their union membership. He has been an active union member all his working life.

Another false union claim is that the AWAs under which the workers are employed are invalid. In fact, I understand the workers, with the assistance of translators, read the AWAs in full and signed them.

The Australian Industry Group, of which Dartbridge is a member, supports the 457 visa program as one of the short-term solutions to skill shortages but has a strong view that employers should meet the pay and conditions standards required of them by the Immigration Department and that they should have a commitment to training.

Employers who do the wrong thing should be prosecuted but nothing has been put forward by the union to suggest Dartbridge is such an employer.

Hickman has a long-term vision for his business as a training enterprise but he also stands by his present workforce and rejects yet another union claim that the workforce is about to be sacked. The union’s aim appears to be to demonise the new owner as part of a political campaign.

This is not the story of a “rogue” employer abusing migrant labour. It is the story of a tradesman who wanted to own his own business and found himself in the middle of an unfair union vilification campaign in pursuit of a political end.

Original Article published in Courier Mail, page 37; October 25, 2006

Article can be downloaded HERE

When Ai Group Queensland member Dartbridge Engineering was unfairly accused of mistreating its Filipino workers on 457 Visas, Ai Group acted quickly to assist the Brisbane-based welding and pipe and steel fabrication business.

New owner and former welding supervisor Dennis Hickman was confronted by the allegations the day he took over ownership of the company. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union claimed 40 workers employed on 457 Visas were underpaid, charged $175 a week “rent” to live in substandard housing, and three workers had been sacked for joining a union.

Ai Group quickly pointed out the workers were paid at levels that met the requirements of the 457 Visa program and the $175 a week paid to the company’s previous ownership covered much more than “rent”. It also covered health insurance, all transport to and from work and between jobs in a minibus, all gas, water and electricity costs, and accommodation in new, fully furnished premises that also included a pool and other recreational facilities.

Ai Group supports the 457 Visa program as one of the short-term solutions to skills shortages, but strongly believes employers that do not meet the Visa’s conditions should be prosecuted. “The union has no basis for its claims that Dartbridge is such an employer,”

Ai Group Chief Executive Heather Ridout said at the time. “This is not the case of a ‘rogue’ employer abusing migrant labour. It is the story of a tradesman who wanted to own his own business and found himself in the middle of an unfair union vilification campaign in pursuit of a political end.”

Original article was published in Australian Industry Group, page 23. Published in Summer 2006/07

Article can be downloaded HERE

The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal of Queensland has rejected claims of racial and union discrimination against Dartbridge Welding.

The Queensland engineering firm had been accused of discriminating against Filipino workers.

The company’s former director says he hopes to put the racist stigma behind him. Former employees Roy Yabut and Jun Ramirez brought the action against the company after they were dismissed in October last year, shortly after joining the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

They were among 40 workers brought to Australia by the firm under 457 visas and claimed they were forced to sign unfair Australian Workplace Agreements. They also claimed they were charged exorbitant rent and transport costs by the company, despite as many as eight people sharing a four-bedroom house.

However, in his judgment tribunal member David Boddice SC found the men were unreliable witnesses and dismissed each of the discrimination claims.

Former Dartbridge director Wayne Harrison, whose father established the business, said the cost of defending the claims had destroyed the company. “This is a 26-year-old family business that at its height employed 50 people, turned over $3 million and is now in liquidation - that just shows you the power of negative publicity on a business,” Mr. Harrison told AAP.

He said he hoped to put the claims of racism behind him and still hoped to work closely with the Philippines with his recruitment company Australian Trades Pty Ltd. “When they talk about racism, that’s a pretty serious stigma and all I can now do is give the results now to people who want to read it,” he said.

AMWU secretary Andrew Dettmer said the union was “appalled” by the decision and was considering an appeal. “We are referring it to our lawyers for advice,” he said.

“We find it hard to believe that we’ve got a decision which has come down effectively accepting all of the testimony of the employer and virtually none of the members concerned.”

Original Article can be found here:

http://news.smh.com.au/national/firm-cleared-of-racial-discrimination-20071211-1gee.html

The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal of Queensland has rejected claims of racial and union discrimination against Dartbridge Welding.

The Queensland engineering firm had been accused of discriminating against Filipino workers.

The company’s former director says he hopes to put the racist stigma behind him. Former employees Roy Yabut and Jun Ramirez brought the action against the company after they were dismissed in October last year, shortly after joining the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

They were among 40 workers brought to Australia by the firm under 457 visas and claimed they were forced to sign unfair Australian Workplace Agreements. They also claimed they were charged exorbitant rent and transport costs by the company, despite as many as eight people sharing a four-bedroom house.

However, in his judgment tribunal member David Boddice SC found the men were unreliable witnesses and dismissed each of the discrimination claims.

Former Dartbridge director Wayne Harrison, whose father established the business, said the cost of defending the claims had destroyed the company. “This is a 26-year-old family business that at its height employed 50 people, turned over $3 million and is now in liquidation - that just shows you the power of negative publicity on a business,” Mr. Harrison told AAP.

He said he hoped to put the claims of racism behind him and still hoped to work closely with the Philippines with his recruitment company Australian Trades Pty Ltd. “When they talk about racism, that’s a pretty serious stigma and all I can now do is give the results now to people who want to read it,” he said.

AMWU secretary Andrew Dettmer said the union was “appalled” by the decision and was considering an appeal. “We are referring it to our lawyers for advice,” he said.

“We find it hard to believe that we’ve got a decision which has come down effectively accepting all of the testimony of the employer and virtually none of the members concerned.”

Original Article can be found here:

http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=443974

The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal of Queensland has rejected claims of racial and union discrimination against Dartbridge Welding.

The Queensland engineering firm had been accused of discriminating against Filipino workers.

The company’s former director says he hopes to put the racist stigma behind him. Former employees Roy Yabut and Jun Ramirez brought the action against the company after they were dismissed in October last year, shortly after joining the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

They were among 40 workers brought to Australia by the firm under 457 visas and claimed they were forced to sign unfair Australian Workplace Agreements. They also claimed they were charged exorbitant rent and transport costs by the company, despite as many as eight people sharing a four-bedroom house.

However, in his judgment tribunal member David Boddice SC found the men were unreliable witnesses and dismissed each of the discrimination claims.

Former Dartbridge director Wayne Harrison, whose father established the business, said the cost of defending the claims had destroyed the company. “This is a 26-year-old family business that at its height employed 50 people, turned over $3 million and is now in liquidation - that just shows you the power of negative publicity on a business,” Mr. Harrison told AAP.

He said he hoped to put the claims of racism behind him and still hoped to work closely with the Philippines with his recruitment company Australian Trades Pty Ltd. “When they talk about racism, that’s a pretty serious stigma and all I can now do is give the results now to people who want to read it,” he said.

AMWU secretary Andrew Dettmer said the union was “appalled” by the decision and was considering an appeal. “We are referring it to our lawyers for advice,” he said.

“We find it hard to believe that we’ve got a decision which has come down effectively accepting all of the testimony of the employer and virtually none of the members concerned.”

Original Article can be found here:

http://news.theage.com.au/national/firm-cleared-of-racial-discrimination-20071211-1gee.html

The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal of Queensland has rejected claims of racial and union discrimination against Dartbridge Welding.

The Queensland engineering firm had been accused of discriminating against Filipino workers.

The company’s former director says he hopes to put the racist stigma behind him. Former employees Roy Yabut and Jun Ramirez brought the action against the company after they were dismissed in October last year, shortly after joining the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

They were among 40 workers brought to Australia by the firm under 457 visas and claimed they were forced to sign unfair Australian Workplace Agreements. They also claimed they were charged exorbitant rent and transport costs by the company, despite as many as eight people sharing a four-bedroom house.

However, in his judgment tribunal member David Boddice SC found the men were unreliable witnesses and dismissed each of the discrimination claims.

Former Dartbridge director Wayne Harrison, whose father established the business, said the cost of defending the claims had destroyed the company. “This is a 26-year-old family business that at its height employed 50 people, turned over $3 million and is now in liquidation - that just shows you the power of negative publicity on a business,” Mr. Harrison told AAP.

He said he hoped to put the claims of racism behind him and still hoped to work closely with the Philippines with his recruitment company Australian Trades Pty Ltd. “When they talk about racism, that’s a pretty serious stigma and all I can now do is give the results now to people who want to read it,” he said.

AMWU secretary Andrew Dettmer said the union was “appalled” by the decision and was considering an appeal. “We are referring it to our lawyers for advice,” he said.

“We find it hard to believe that we’ve got a decision which has come down effectively accepting all of the testimony of the employer and virtually none of the members concerned.”

Original Article can be found here:

http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2007/dec/11/aap-firm-cleared-of-racial-discrimination/