The Australian Mines and Metals Association, which was a key player in the industry's $20 million campaign to stop the Rudd government introducing the resource super-profits tax, has turned its focus to industrial relations, revealing it will seek $500,000 from its members to finance challenges to a growing number of tribunal decisions that are "adverse" to the interests of employers.
The association's chief executive, Steve Knott, told supporting newspapers and radio shock jocks yesterday it was more than likely that last week's "strike first, talk later" ruling by the tribunal would now be challenged in the Federal Court and, if necessary, the High Court.
Mr Knott said the IR Foundation Fund would build on the financial reserves held by the association to mount legal challenges over workplace relations. "What we are seeing at the moment, and what we expect we'll continue to see for some months to come, is a number of judgments that are pushing the limits in terms of the new IR laws," Mr Knott said.
"If you go into the hard-rock mining sector, for example, about 80 per cent of companies are in the direct-employment space. They could have several thousand employees and they will not want a situation where a dozen employees can take strike action and bring the job to a standstill.
"So the call to arms is to say, 'this is what's been handed down, you can leave it as it is', and that will be the way the IR laws are interpreted in Australia or you can challenge it through to a higher jurisdiction."
In the earlier battle news organisations were the biggest winners as the super rich mining companies poured in money to fund multipage advertisements and propped up the radio shock jocks on a daily basis.
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