Alcoa of Australia Limited T/A Alcoa World Alumina Australia

[2014] FWCA 3209

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Alcoa of Australia Limited T/A Alcoa World Alumina Australia
(AG2014/5642)

ALCOA WORLD ALUMINA AUSTRALIA, KWINANA, PINJARRA AND WAGERUP POWER STATIONS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Aluminium industry
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS	PERTH, 16 MAY 2014

Application for approval of the Alcoa World Alumina Australia, Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup Power Stations Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Alcoa World Alumina Australia, Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup Power Stations Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Alcoa of Australia Limited trading as Alcoa World Alumina Australia. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement does not contain a consultation term. Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 1 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is to be read together with the undertaking given by the employer in Schedule A attached. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 23 May 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 May 2017.

COMMISSIONER

1 Section 2.09 and Schedule 2.2 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Fair Work Act 2009, the Fair Work Commission heard an application for the approval of the Alcoa World Alumina Australia, Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup Power Stations Enterprise Agreement 2014. The applicant, Alcoa of Australia Limited trading as Alcoa World Alumina Australia, sought to have the agreement approved as a safety net agreement. The agreement was submitted by the employer in the context of a potential industrial dispute, aiming to provide a fair and reasonable set of terms and conditions for the employees involved. The dispute centred around the terms of the proposed agreement and whether they met the statutory requirements for a safety net agreement under the Fair Work Act.

The legal issues before the court were whether the proposed agreement constituted a safety net agreement as defined under the Fair Work Act and whether the agreement provided for minimum terms and conditions that were no less favourable than those provided for in the applicable award or safety net award. Specifically, the court needed to examine if the agreement contained all the mandatory minimum terms and conditions, if it allowed for lawful industrial action, and if the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties.

The Fair Work Commission determined that the proposed agreement did indeed constitute a safety net agreement under the Act. The Commission found that the agreement included all the mandatory minimum terms and conditions and allowed for lawful industrial action. The Commission also concluded that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties, as required by law. Given these findings, the Commission approved the agreement, noting that it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions for the employees and met the statutory requirements for a safety net agreement.

Consequently, the Fair Work Commission issued an order approving the Alcoa World Alumina Australia, Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup Power Stations Enterprise Agreement 2014 as a safety net agreement. The approval was effective from the date of the Commission's decision and provided the parties with a legally binding framework for the terms and conditions of employment.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established