Flemington Fields Pty Ltd T/A GKR Transport

[2022] FWCA 3425

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Flemington Fields Pty Ltd T/A GKR Transport

(AG2022/3798)

Transport Workers Union of Western Australia and GKR Transport Linehaul Collective Agreement 2022

Road transport industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT EASTON	SYDNEY, 5 OCTOBER 2022

Application for approval of the Transport Workers Union of Western Australia and GKR Transport Linehaul Collective Agreement 2022.

Flemington Fields Pty Ltd T/A GKR Transport (the Employer) has made an application for the approval of the Transport Workers Union of Western Australia and GKR Transport Linehaul Collective Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made under s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

The Transport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU) was a bargaining representative for the Agreement and 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 TWU.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 October 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 August 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties to the dispute were Flemington Fields Pty Ltd, trading as GKR Transport, and the Transport Workers Union of Western Australia. The matter before the court was an application for approval of a collective agreement between the two parties, specifically the Transport Workers Union of Western Australia and GKR Transport Linehaul Collective Agreement 2022. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission.

The legal issues that the court needed to decide included whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether the process by which the agreement was made was fair and appropriate. The court had to consider whether the agreement provided for matters that were "of interest" to the employees, whether the agreement was made in good faith, and whether the agreement provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests. The court also needed to determine whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable method of determining employees' rates of pay and conditions of employment.

The court found that the agreement met all of the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The court was satisfied that the agreement provided for matters of interest to the employees, that it was made in good faith, and that it provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests. The court also found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable method of determining employees' rates of pay and conditions of employment. The court approved the Transport Workers Union of Western Australia and GKR Transport Linehaul Collective Agreement 2022.

No further orders were made by the court. The approval of the agreement was the primary outcome of the application.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established