DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway
(AG2018/6090)

CLEANAWAY SOLID WASTE SERVICES GEELONG DEPOT (MUNICIPAL) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Waste management industry
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 26 FEBRUARY 2019

Application for approval of the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services Geelong Depot (Municipal) Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services Geelong Depot (Municipal) 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 Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings 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 the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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.

[4] The Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (TWU) 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 the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 5 March 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2022.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A:

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd, trading as Cleanaway, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services Geelong Depot (Municipal) Enterprise Agreement 2018. The application concerned the agreement reached between Cleanaway and its employees at the Geelong depot, which involved various terms and conditions of employment. The dispute arose from the need to ensure that the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in relation to the procedural fairness and the substantive fairness of the agreement's terms.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the procedural fairness requirements of the Fair Work Act, and whether the agreement's terms were fair and reasonable in all aspects. The Commission needed to determine if the bargaining process was conducted in good faith and if the terms and conditions of the agreement met the standards of procedural and substantive fairness as prescribed by the legislation. Specifically, the Commission examined if Cleanaway had engaged in genuine bargaining with the employees' representatives and if the agreed terms were within the scope of what could be reasonably expected in the circumstances.

In reaching its decision, the Commission considered the evidence provided by both parties, including the bargaining records, communications, and the proposed terms of the agreement. The Commission found that Cleanaway had engaged in genuine bargaining with the employees' representatives, adhering to the procedural fairness requirements. Additionally, the Commission was satisfied that the terms and conditions of the agreement were fair and reasonable, meeting the standards of substantive fairness. Consequently, the Commission approved the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services Geelong Depot (Municipal) Enterprise Agreement 2018.

The final orders of the Commission were that the application for approval of the agreement was granted, and the Cleanaway Solid Waste Services Geelong Depot (Municipal) Enterprise Agreement 2018 was approved as meeting the requirements of the Fair Work Act. This decision was based on the findings that the agreement had been made in accordance with the procedural fairness requirements and that the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable.

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established