Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd

[2019] FWCA 6837

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd

(AG2019/3485)

Cleanaway Solid Waste Services South Australia Post Collections Operator Enterprise Agreement 2019

Waste management industry
Commissioner Platt	ADELAIDE, 4 OCTOBER 2019

Application for approval of the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services South Australia Post Collections Operator Enterprise Agreement 2019.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services South Australia Post Collections Operator Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 24 September 2019.

On 2 October 2019, my Chambers corresponded with the parties by email to seek clarification about aspects of the Agreement and I invited the Applicant to address these matters including through the provision of an undertaking.

The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 3 October 2019. The undertaking deals with the following topic:

· The Applicant has inserted a National Employment Standards (NES) precedence clause.

A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representatives and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representative that responded supports the undertaking.

The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Transport Workers’ 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 this organisation.
I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days from the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 5 September 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd recently faced judicial scrutiny in relation to the approval of the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services South Australia Post Collections Operator Enterprise Agreement 2019. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, where the central issue was whether the enterprise agreement should be approved by the Commission. The agreement in question had been submitted for approval under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, which allows for the direct registration of agreements that meet specific criteria. The applicants, Cleanaway Operations and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, sought the Commission's approval of the agreement, while the respondents, represented by a number of employees, contested the application on various grounds.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Fair Work Act and whether it was free from any invalid or unenforceable provisions. Additionally, the Commission had to determine if the agreement had been made in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including whether there was genuine bargaining and if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission's role was to ensure that the agreement was fair and equitable, and that it complied with the legislative framework governing enterprise agreements in Australia.

In delivering its decision, the Fair Work Commission carefully examined the contents of the agreement and the processes that led to its formation. The Commission found that the agreement contained all the necessary prescribed terms and was free from any invalid provisions. It was satisfied that the agreement had been genuinely bargained and that it was in the best interests of the employees, taking into account their needs and the overall fairness of the terms. Consequently, the Commission approved the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services South Australia Post Collections Operator Enterprise Agreement 2019, allowing it to be registered and thereby providing legal certainty to the parties involved.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established