Dollar Sweets Dispute - The Dispute

The Dispute

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 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.

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 accepted Stauder's offer while 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.

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.

By October 1985 the company was still refusing to reinstate the sacked workers but through the Concilation 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 "that those who have been picketing should accept the employer's offer and cease their picketing forthwith."

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.

Dollar Sweets received strong support and assistance from Richard Mulcahy, chief executive officer of the Confectionery Manufacturers of Australia. By December 1985 it was decided to seek an injunction under common law against the union in the Supreme Court of Victoria, with solicitor Michael Kroger engaging junior barrister and future federal Treasurer Peter Costello hired to represent the company. The case was financed by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce.

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 judgment issued restraining orders on 12 December with the picket ending the next day. In his judgement Justice Peter 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, and ordered the union to pay $175,000 in damages.