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ending the next day. In his judgement, Murphy described the picketing as "stupid and nihilistic." He ruled that this was not a "lawful form of picketing, but a... nuisance involving obstruction, harassment, and besetting". It was beside the point that there were specialist courts for industrial disputes. "This court is not without power ... and should intervene". He issued an interlocutory injunction against the picket, The common law damages claim was settled in April 1988, when the union paid the sum of $ 175,000 to Dollar Sweets as compensation for the losses it suffered as a result of the picket.
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In July 1985, the
Federated Confectioners Association started a campaign with employers for a 36-hour week. Although this breached Arbitration Commission wage-fixing principles, the union had never agreed to accept those principles. When the union demanded negotiations with Stauder on a 36-hour week,
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By
October 1985, the company was still refusing to reinstate the sacked workers but through the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission had provided "an offer to assist in finding alternate employment within the industry and also to supply references to those people." Commissioner Bain recommended
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Stauder offered his 27 employees that if they wished to continue to receive over-award pay for a (below-award) 38-hour week, they could do so if they signed a no-strike agreement; but, if they wanted to work a 36-hour week, they would have to find it elsewhere. Twelve employees accepted
Stauder's
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The company alleged union interference with contractual relations, intimidation, nuisance, and a conspiracy to injure the plaintiff and sought an injunction and punitive damages. Victorian
Supreme Court Justice Peter Murphy gave judgement, issued restraining orders on 12 December with the picket
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which provided employer superannuation, reduced taxation and other social gains in return for unions agreeing to not pursue excessive wage claims. At the same time, centralised wage fixing was introduced in
September 1983 where indexed wage rises were automatically granted to those workers whose
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A number of bomb and arson threats were made against Dollar Sweets and one strike-breaking driver was assaulted and his truck vandalised. At one point, phone and telex lines were cut to the factory with telecom workers refusing to cross the picket line to repair the services.
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The company owner, Fred
Stauder, proposed an agreement with his employees in November 1983, that if they agreed to abide by the principles of the Arbitration Commission, the company would pay them the prescribed increases. All 27 employees agreed to the proposal.
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Stauder told the union he could not afford to reduce hours and offered to show his accounts to the union. A reduction in hours would have also broken the 1983 agreement
Stauder had reached with his employees.
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offer, whereas the other 15 refused to sign the no-strike agreement and were subsequently sacked by the company, with the company employing another 15 workers in their place on existing conditions.
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On 22 July 1985, a picket line was established by the sacked workers outside the Dollar Sweets factory. The picket line remained for 143 days, with the company refusing to reinstate the workers.
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It became a cause celebre for the big end of town and lawyers started to realise they could make money ripping off the pay and conditions of workers.
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employing 27 people on a 38-hour week basis. The award for the industry specified a 40-hour week. The Hawke
Government and the
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55:. The dispute was also significant for boosting the career of the barrister representing the company,
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It was when the social contract between workers, business and the government started to collapse,
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to resolve a dispute after industrial courts proved ineffective. It was the first time a
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248:"The legal antecedents of the Workplace Relations Act- From the Plague to Reith"
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was forced to pay common law damages to an employer for losses suffered through
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Dollar Sweets Pty Ltd and The
Federated Confectioners Association of Australia
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Fred
Stauder sold Dollar Sweets Holding Limited in 1999, which is now called
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Dollar Sweets Pty Ltd v Federated Confectioners Association of Australia
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unions undertook to abide by the Arbitration Commission's principles.
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The End of Certainty: Power, Politics, and Business in Australia
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Dollar Sweets was a confectionery company on Malvern Rd in the
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Dollar Sweets received strong support and assistance from
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In Search of the Magic Pudding: The Dollar Sweets Story
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to represent the company. The case was financed by the
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to lead junior barrister and future federal Treasurer
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89:Federated Confectioners Association of Australia
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180:as a great victory against militant unionism
273:Australian Industrial Relations Commission
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190:Australian Manufacturing Workers Union
174:Peter Costello described the case as "
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39:verdict and damages in a case in the
87:Several small unions, including the
16:1985 industrial dispute in Australia
373:"Fred's place in political history"
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31:with major legal ramifications in
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176:It came to be bracketed with the
126:, chief executive officer of the
320:"The sweets of a famous victory"
35:where an employer resorted to a
417:1985 labor disputes and strikes
371:Peter Costello (26 July 2006).
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285:Kelly, Paul (December 1994).
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153:Victorian Chamber of Commerce
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427:Labour disputes in Australia
357:383 (12 December 1985),
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432:Labour history of Australia
422:History of Victoria (state)
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442:1980s in Victoria (state)
378:The Sydney Morning Herald
325:The Sydney Morning Herald
178:Mudginberri Abattoir case
132:Supreme Court of Victoria
41:Supreme Court of Victoria
271: (22 October 1985),
233:, Accessed 6 August 2008
351:[1986] VicRp 38
269:[1985] AIRC 403
188:, the secretary of the
437:1985 in Australian law
291:. Allen & Unwin.
231:H.R. Nicholls Society
21:Dollar Sweets dispute
254:on 23 December 2007.
224:19 July 2008 at the
33:industrial relations
23:in 1985 was a small
169:Snack Foods Limited
79:had entered into a
73:Glen Iris, Victoria
25:industrial dispute
412:1985 in Australia
407:Arbitration cases
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229:Published by the
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382:. Retrieved
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81:wages accord
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99:The dispute
45:trade union
401:Categories
204:References
71:suburb of
63:Background
37:common law
163:Aftermath
138:engaging
69:Melbourne
53:Australia
49:picketing
29:Australia
384:6 August
332:6 August
222:Archived
196:" and "
361:(Vic).
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386:2008
334:2008
293:ISBN
77:ACTU
19:The
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51:in
27:in
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