17 In construing the clause it was submitted that the approach adopted by the majority (Hungerford, Schmidt JJ) in Bryce and anor v Apperley (1998) 82 IR 448 ought be adopted. In that matter the majority expressed the approach to interpretation this way:
In our view, in construing the true meaning of an industrial award, like any other instrument with legal force, the task requires an approach according to the actual words used and their plain, ordinary English meaning. As was said by Kelleher J in Re Dispute between Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd and the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers' Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch, Re Tank Tops [1961] AR (NSW) 312 at 314:
"The meaning is to be ascertained primarily from a consideration of the words actually used and, while it is proper to pay regard to the surrounding circumstances and the purposes for which the provision was intended, this cannot justify a meaning being given to the words or expressions, having a special trade significance, however, may need to be construed in that light."
Indeed, after referring with approval to what was said by Street J in Geo A Bond & Co Ltd (In Liq) , as recited earlier, French J cautioned as follows in City of Wanneroo v Holmes (1989) 30 IR 362 at 379:
"It is of course no part of the court's task to assign a meaning in order that the award may provide what the court thinks is appropriate - Australian Workers Union v Graziers Association (NSW) (1939) 40 CAR 494. Indeed it has been said that a tribunal interpreting an award must attribute to the words used their true meaning even if satisfied that so construed they would not carry out the intention of the award making authority - Re Health Administration Corporation; Re Public Hospital Nurses (State) Award (1985) 12 IR 122; Rogers Meat Co Pty Ltd v Howarth [1960] AR (NSW) 291; Re Government Railways and Tramways (Engineers etc) Award [1928] AR 53 at 58 (Cantor J)."
In light of those comments as to the proper approach, one may see the difficulty with that urged by the appellants in that they sought to put aside the apparent, and perhaps obvious, meaning of the Dairyman classification definition, as adopted by the Chief Industrial Magistrate, because it involved a too literal construction which could not be so when one had in mind what were said to be the unacceptable and even absurd results. As senior counsel said during argument - "We accept the literal construction, we simply say that that can't be right and when one looks at a number of aids you can see that that isn't right". Given the assertion against the literal meaning, senior counsel then constructed a meaning by the use of various contextual considerations. However, we have to say, we do not think the results of the literal interpretation of the Awards to be necessarily unacceptable or absurd. Further, we are of the view that the contextual considerations relied upon are as applicable to the meaning of the award provision concerned adopted by the Chief Industrial Magistrate as they are to that contended for the appellants. The seeming dilemma and rationale for the proper approach to the construction of an industrial award was, with respect, cogently dealt with by Olney J in Norwest Beef Industries Ltd v Australian Meat Industry Employees Union of Workers (WA Branch) (1984) 12 IR 314 at 331 in this way:
"If it be the case that the correct approach to the interpretation of an industrial award is to read the document itself and give to the words used their ordinary commonsense English meaning (see Jackson J in United Furniture Trades Industrial Union v Dale Manufacturing Co Pty Ltd , 30 WAIG 539, at 540) then the first task in every case will be to determine whether the words used are capable in their ordinary sense of having an unambiguous meaning. If that question is answered in the affirmative then the further consideration of the expressed or supposed intention of the award making tribunal does not fall to be considered. The majority of the Full Bench in this case took that view when they said:
'It is now trite law that when the meaning of language read in its ordinary and natural sense is obtained it is not necessary or indeed permissible to look to the intention of the parties'.
In my opinion the majority of the Full Bench has correctly stated the basic principle to be applied in the interpretation of industrial awards. Any other conclusion would lead to industrial anarchy. If the contrary were the case every employer, union official and indeed each employee would need to have available to him the expressed views of the award making tribunal whether they be expressed before or after the making of the award in order to determine the intention of the tribunal whilst the award itself would be rendered meaningless."
The approach there stated, with which we agree, is consistent with that applied to the construction of instruments generally, such as in statutory construction. For instance, in Cooper Brookes (Wollongong) Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (Cth) (1981) 147 CLR 297 Mason J, as he then was, and Wilson J made the following comment at 321:
"Quite obviously questions of degree arise. If the choice is between two strongly competing interpretations, as we have said, the advantage may lie with that which produces the fairer and more convenient operation so long as it conforms to the legislative intention. If, however, one interpretation has a powerful advantage in ordinary meaning and grammatical sense, it will only be displaced if its operation is perceived to be unintended."
Gibbs CJ similarly referred in that case to the object in interpreting a statute as being "to see what is the intention expressed by the words used" (at 304) and then his Honour said (at 305):
"However, if the language of a statutory provision is clear and unambiguous, and is consistent and harmonious with the other provisions of the enactment, and can be intelligibly applied to the subject matter with which it deals, it must be given its ordinary and grammatical meaning, even if it leads to a result that may seen inconvenient or unjust. To say this is not to insist on too literal an interpretation, or to deny that the court should seek the real intention of the legislature. The danger that lies in departing from the ordinary meaning of unambiguous provisions is that 'it may degrade into mere judicial criticism of the propriety of the acts of the Legislature', as Lord Moulton said in Vacher & Sons Ltd v London Society of Compositors ([1913] AC 107, at 130); it may lead judges to put their own ideas of justice or social policy in place of the words of the statute. On the other hand, if two constructions are open, the court will obviously prefer that which will avoid what it considers to be inconvenience or injustice. Since language, read in its context, very often proves to be ambiguous, this last mentioned rule is one that not infrequently falls to be applied."
Whilst it may, we think, be undoubted that an industrial award is made to prescribe just and reasonable wages for work done, how and in what form that purpose is to be achieved is a matter for the award-making tribunal according to a value judgment of the competing merits. Where, as here, an award is made by consent of the parties the position is even clearer. Of course, if a particular provision be found in practice to be in some way unfair or inappropriate then the award is capable of being varied or re-made. Thus, the claimed unacceptable and absurd results, a description we do not adopt and prefer to categorise as allegedly unfair or inappropriate by one party, may be avoided by an award variation. But, in our view, not by a judicial construction of the Awards which would affect the meaning of the plain, ordinary meaning of the words used so as to disturb retrospectively the rights and liabilities of the parties.