DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd
(AG2017/4597)

BROADSPECTRUM (ROADS MAINTENANCE & MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES QLD) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 13 OCTOBER 2017

Application for variation of the Broadspectrum (Roads Maintenance & Miscellaneous Services QLD) Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the Broadspectrum (Roads Maintenance & Miscellaneous Services QLD) Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made by Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.210 and 211 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval of a variation have been met.

[4] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet such requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as were relevant to the application for approval of an enterprise agreement and the Agreement was approved on 4 September 2017. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[5] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[6] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 13 October 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd recently faced a matter in the Fair Work Commission where the company sought a variation of the Broadspectrum (Roads Maintenance & Miscellaneous Services QLD) Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was made by Broadspectrum to alter certain terms of the enterprise agreement, which governs the employment conditions of its workers. The nature of the dispute centred around amendments to the agreement that the company believed were necessary to ensure operational efficiency and to respond to changing market conditions.

The legal issues the court had to decide involved the validity of the application under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court needed to determine whether Broadspectrum had sufficiently justified the changes proposed and whether the process adhered to the legal requirements for enterprise agreement variations. It was also necessary to assess if the proposed changes would be fair and reasonable in the context of the enterprise agreement and the interests of the employees.

The Fair Work Commission, in its reasoning, considered the evidence presented by both Broadspectrum and the union representing the employees. The court found that Broadspectrum had provided adequate justification for the proposed changes, demonstrating that the variations were necessary to maintain competitiveness and efficiency. The court concluded that the process followed was compliant with the statutory requirements and that the proposed changes were fair and reasonable. As a result, the application for the variation of the enterprise agreement was approved, and the court issued orders to that effect, allowing the changes to proceed.

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established