Cement Australia Pty Ltd Summary

[2022] FWCA 3073

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Cement Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2022/3498)

Cement Australia Package Products Operators Pinkenba Enterprise Agreement 2022

Cement and concrete products
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 5 SEPTEMBER 2022

Application for approval of the Cement Australia Package Products Operators Pinkenba Enterprise Agreement 2022

Cement Australia Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Cement Australia Package Products Operators Pinkenba Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The employer has provided written undertakings, a copy of which is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that they will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

Pursuant to s 205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Agreement was approved on 5 September 2022 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 12 September 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 May 2026.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Cement Australia Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission to approve the Cement Australia Package Products Operators Pinkenba Enterprise Agreement 2022. The applicant, Cement Australia, is a company involved in the cement and concrete industry. The respondent, the Transport Workers Union, represents employees of the applicant. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and if it provided for the fair and equitable treatment of the employees.

The primary legal issue was whether the agreement was a "single-enterprise agreement". Cement Australia contended that the agreement was a single enterprise agreement as it covered all the employees in its Pinkenba facility. The union argued that the agreement should be considered as a multi-enterprise agreement, covering employees across multiple sites. The court was required to determine the correct classification of the agreement and whether it complied with the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act.

The commission found that the agreement was a single-enterprise agreement as it related to employees working at a single site, the Pinkenba facility. The commission noted that the agreement covered all the employees at that site and was not intended to cover employees at other sites. The commission further found that the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Fair Work Act. The agreement provided for fair and equitable treatment of the employees and met the requirements for approval.

The commission approved the Cement Australia Package Products Operators Pinkenba Enterprise Agreement 2022. The union's concerns about the classification of the agreement were rejected, and the commission found that the agreement was a single-enterprise agreement. The agreement was approved as it met all the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including providing for the fair and equitable treatment of the employees.

Cement Australia Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established