DECISION

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

Daromin Engineering Pty Ltd T/A Daracon Plant Hire, Daracon Heavy Haulage
(AG2015/6318)

DARACON GROUP HUNTER REGION TRANSPORT WORKERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015-2019

Road transport industry
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 22 DECEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the DARACON Group Hunter Region Transport Workers Enterprise Agreement 2015-2019.

[1] An application has been made by Daromin Engineering Pty Ltd t/a Daracon Plant Hire, Daracon Heavy Haulage for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the DARACON Group Hunter Region Transport Workers Enterprise Agreement 2015-2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and the accompanying statutory declarations, 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] Three employees who will be covered by the Agreement initially objected to the Agreement being approved on the basis that it did not include a number of benefits they wanted, and sought (unsuccessfully) to negotiate, in the Agreement. However, after being given the opportunity to obtain advice, those objections were withdrawn.

[4] The Transport Workers’ Union of Australia, 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 29 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 21 December 2019.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Daromin Engineering Pty Ltd T/A Daracon Plant Hire, Daracon Heavy Haulage, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the DARACON Group Hunter Region Transport Workers Enterprise Agreement 2015-2019. The applicant is the employer and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) is the registered trade union. The parties had entered into an enterprise agreement in 2015, and the application sought to approve the terms of the agreement for the period 2015 to 2019. The union argued that the application should be rejected because it was not fairly negotiated and did not comply with certain requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The employer argued that the agreement was fairly negotiated and met all the requirements for approval.

The legal issues that the Fair Work Commission was required to decide included whether the enterprise agreement was fairly negotiated, whether it met the requirements for approval, and whether the union had standing to object to the application. The Commission considered the evidence and submissions from both parties and found that the agreement was fairly negotiated and met all the requirements for approval. The Commission rejected the union's argument that it had standing to object to the application because it did not have a sufficient connection to the agreement. The employer's application was approved, and the enterprise agreement was registered.

The Fair Work Commission held that the enterprise agreement was fairly negotiated and met all the requirements for approval. The Commission found that the employer had taken reasonable steps to negotiate the agreement with the union and that the union had not raised any objections to the negotiation process. The Commission also found that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms and conditions required by the Fair Work Act, and that it did not contain any terms that were contrary to public policy. The Commission rejected the union's argument that it had standing to object to the application because it did not have a sufficient connection to the agreement. The union was not a party to the negotiation process and did not have any members covered by the agreement. The employer's application was approved, and the enterprise agreement was registered.

Daromin Engineering Pty Ltd T/A Daracon Plant Hire, Daracon Heavy Haulage

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established