DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Cockburn Cement Limited
(AG2016/5485)

DONGARA UNION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Cement and concrete products
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 10 OCTOBER 2016

Application for approval of the Dongara Union Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Dongara Union Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Cockburn Cement Limited. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] 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.

[4] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and the Australian 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) 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 17 October 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Cockburn Cement Limited, sought approval from the Fair Work Commission of the Dongara Union Enterprise Agreement 2016, which had been negotiated with the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union. The respondent union sought amendments to the agreement to enhance protections for employees, including additional provisions for redundancy and termination of employment. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, the industrial relations tribunal of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed amendments to the enterprise agreement would be consistent with the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant argued that the amendments would impose additional obligations on the employer that were not agreed upon during the negotiation process and would be inconsistent with the principles of good faith bargaining. The union argued that the amendments were necessary to provide adequate protection for employees and were in line with the overarching objectives of the Act.

The Commission considered the principles of good faith bargaining and the need for enterprise agreements to be fair and reasonable. It found that the amendments proposed by the union were not significantly detrimental to the employer and would provide additional protections to employees without undermining the overall objectives of the agreement. The Commission determined that the amendments were consistent with the Act and approved the enterprise agreement with the proposed changes. The employer's application for approval was thus successful, subject to the agreed amendments.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Dongara Union Enterprise Agreement 2016, as amended, be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act. The agreement was to take effect from the date of the Commission's decision, and both parties were required to comply with its terms. The employer was also required to provide the union with a copy of the approved agreement within five business days of the decision.

Cockburn Cement Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established