Centrel Pty Ltd T/A Reliance Petroleum Summary

[2013] FWCA 1377

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Centrel Pty Ltd T/A Reliance Petroleum
(AG2013/409)

BP AUSTRALIA (REGIONAL OPERATIONS) CONSOLIDATED BULK FUEL TRANSPORT (SOUTH AUSTRALIA) AGREEMENT 2012

Road transport industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BARTEL	ADELAIDE, 5 MARCH 2013

[1] An application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the BP Australia (Regional Operations) Consolidated Bulk Fuel Transport (South Australia) Agreement 2012 (the Agreement) has been made by Centrel Pty Ltd T/A Reliance Petroleum (the employer). The application has been made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and is an application for 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 as filed contains an error in relation to the operative dates for the increases payable to casual employees under the Agreement. The error reflects a drafting issue and it is clear that the intention of the parties is to provide the same operative dates as those applying to the increases for permanent employees. The employer and the employee representatives support an amendment of the Agreement to incorporate the correct dates.

[4] Accordingly, and pursuant to s.586 of the Act, the dates of 1 July 2012 appearing in items 3.2 and 3.3 of Attachment A to the Agreement are deleted and the dates of 1 July 2013 and 1 July 2014, respectively, are inserted in lieu thereof.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) of the Act, the Agreement will operate from 11 March 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 4 March 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Fair Work Commission was presented with an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement between Centrel Pty Ltd T/A Reliance Petroleum and BP Australia (Regional Operations). This agreement, titled the BP Australia (Regional Operations) Consolidated Bulk Fuel Transport (South Australia) Agreement 2012, was submitted under section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Deputy President of the Commission, Bartel, was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval, including those outlined in sections 186, 187, and 188 of the Act.

The primary issue for the Deputy President to resolve was whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements for approval as a single-enterprise agreement. Additionally, the Deputy President had to address a discrepancy in the operative dates for pay increases for casual employees, which differed from those for permanent employees, despite the intention of the parties being to align these dates. This discrepancy was identified as a drafting error.

The Deputy President found that the agreement generally met the statutory requirements for approval, with the exception of the aforementioned discrepancy in the operative dates for casual employee pay increases. Upon reviewing the submissions from both the employer and the employee representatives, the Deputy President concluded that the parties intended the same operative dates for both casual and permanent employees. The Deputy President thus amended the agreement by deleting the incorrect dates and inserting the correct ones, in line with the intentions of the parties and as per section 586 of the Act.

The Deputy President approved the amended agreement, which will come into effect on 11 March 2013 and will nominally expire on 4 March 2016. The amendment ensured that the agreement complied with all statutory requirements and accurately reflected the intentions of both the employer and the employees.

Centrel Pty Ltd T/A Reliance Petroleum

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established