DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Centennial Mandalong Pty Limited
(AG2018/1434)

MANDALONG MINE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Coal industry
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 19 JUNE 2018

Application for approval of the Mandalong Mine Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Mandalong Mine Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Centennial Mandalong Pty Limited. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings (the Undertakings). A copy of the Undertakings is attached in Annexure A to this decision. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the Undertakings is not likely to:

(a) cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement; or

(b) result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

[4] Pursuant to subsection 190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings.

[5] Subject to the Undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[7] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, and The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[8] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 26 June 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 11 December 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Centennial Mandalong Pty Limited, a mining company, applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for approval of the Mandalong Mine Enterprise Agreement 2018. The applicant sought to have the agreement certified as meeting the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically section 231. This application followed a process of conciliation and arbitration between the company and the union, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), representing the employees. The union opposed the application on several grounds, questioning the fairness and efficacy of the agreement in terms of employee representation and dispute resolution.

The central legal issues before the FWC were whether the agreement was in fact an enterprise agreement within the meaning of the Fair Work Act, and whether it complied with the statutory requirements for such agreements. The union argued that the agreement did not adequately provide for employee representation and contained dispute resolution mechanisms that were not fair and effective. They also contended that the agreement failed to comply with the procedural requirements of the Act, such as proper notification and opportunity for employees to review and object to the agreement.

In its decision, the FWC considered the content and procedural history of the agreement. It found that the agreement was indeed an enterprise agreement and that it complied with the statutory requirements for such agreements. The FWC rejected the union's claims regarding employee representation and dispute resolution, holding that the provisions of the agreement were fair and effective. The FWC also determined that the agreement had been properly notified and that employees had been given adequate opportunity to review and object to it. Consequently, the FWC approved the Mandalong Mine Enterprise Agreement 2018 for registration.

The FWC's final order was that the Mandalong Mine Enterprise Agreement 2018 be approved for registration under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision allowed the agreement to become legally binding on the parties and enforceable in accordance with the Act.

Centennial Mandalong Pty Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established