FAIR Work Australia will this month hold a conciliation conference in an attempt to resolve an unfair dismissal claim made by a sacked Nuplex worker who says he was made to wear the blame for December’s Wangaratta chemical spill.
Kris Kent last month lodged the claim with Fair Work Australia.
He told The Border Mail that while he took partial responsibility for the December 19 spill, a mechanical systems failure meant the chemical escaped the plant through a maintenance manhole.
Mr Kent’s lawyer, John Suta, said the claim was made on the basis that his termination of employment was harsh, unjust and unreasonable.
Mr Suta said the conciliation by telephone would be held by both parties before a Fair Work Australia conciliator on February 14.
“The conciliation is an informal, confidential process,” Mr Suta said.
“We are hoping the matter will settle on February 14, otherwise there will be an open public hearing.”
Mr Suta said before the conciliation, Nuplex or its legal advisers would be required to lodge with Fair Work Australia, and serve upon he and his client, Mr Kent, an employer’s response to application for unfair dismissal remedy.
He said should the matter proceed to an open hearing then Fair Work Australia would issue directions regarding the filing of witness statements ahead of the hearing.
Mr Suta said Mr Kent’s case for unfair dismissal was supported by a letter he had received from Nuplex on the day he was dismissed, that specifically refers to his involvement in the December 19 spill.
“If his actions required an immediate termination, then why wasn’t he dismissed until almost a month later?”
Mr Suta said he made an application under Freedom of Information for a report covering a WorkSafe investigation into the Wangaratta spill.
Nuplex management last week told a public meeting that an independent consultant retained to investigate the accident identified its cause as a chemical reaction that occurred when chemical compounds were inadvertently mixed during routine preparations for the manufacture of a product used in the textile industry.
The investigation found a valve to one of the chemical tanks had been left open, instead of being shut off before a chemical transfer, as a result of an operator error and contrary to the company’s operating procedures.
The company denied Mr Kent’s sacking was solely related to his role in the chemical spill and said the reasons had been outlined in a letter to him.
They said Mr Kent had been counselled in relation to previous serious incidents he had been involved with before his dismissal last month.
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