DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

DGL (Australia) Pty Ltd
(AG2015/3161)

DGL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT (STRAMIT OPERATIONS) MADDINGTON WA 2015-2018

Road transport industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 13 JULY 2015

Application for approval of the Application for approval of the DGL (Australia) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement (Stramit Operations) Maddington WA 2015 - 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the DGL (Australia) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement (Stramit Operations) Maddington WA 2015 - 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by DGL (Australia) Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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] 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.

[5] 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 13 July 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 20 July 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 5 July 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of DGL (Australia) Pty Ltd involved the company applying for the approval of the DGL (Australia) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement (Stramit Operations) Maddington WA 2015 - 2018, which was to be considered by the Fair Work Commission. The application was brought before the Federal Court of Australia as an appeal against a decision of the Commission. The applicant, DGL (Australia) Pty Ltd, sought to have the enterprise agreement approved under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009, while the respondents, including various unions and employees, opposed the approval on various grounds.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Fair Work Commission had correctly exercised its discretion in not approving the enterprise agreement. The applicant argued that the agreement contained appropriate terms and conditions for the employees and complied with the statutory requirements. Conversely, the respondents contended that the agreement did not adequately address issues such as casual employment, wage rates, and shift penalties, thus failing to meet the standards of the Fair Work Act. The court was required to examine the application of the statutory provisions and the principles of good faith bargaining in the context of enterprise agreements.

The court found that the Fair Work Commission had not erred in its decision not to approve the enterprise agreement. The agreement did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act as it failed to address several critical issues that were necessary for fair and effective bargaining. The court highlighted that the agreement did not include provisions for casual employees, did not provide adequate wage rates, and did not sufficiently address shift penalties. These shortcomings were considered to be significant deficiencies that undermined the fairness and effectiveness of the bargaining process. The court upheld the Commission's decision, affirming that the agreement did not comply with the statutory requirements for approval.

No further orders were made by the court beyond affirming the decision of the Fair Work Commission. The applicant's appeal was dismissed, and the enterprise agreement remained unapproved.

DGL (Australia) Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established