Flinders Ports Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 5292

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Flinders Ports Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1880)

FLINDERS PORTS MARINE PILOTS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014-2018

Port authorities
COMMISSIONER HAMPTON	ADELAIDE, 6 AUGUST 2014

Application for approval of the Flinders Ports Marine Pilots Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Flinders Ports Marine Pilots Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Flinders Ports Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Australian Maritime Officers’ 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[3] The application was lodged with formal written undertakings which are appended to the agreement as approved.

[4] I have accepted the undertakings pursuant to s.190 of the Act. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 13 August 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Flinders Ports Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Flinders Ports Marine Pilots Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018. The Fair Work Commission is Australia's workplace relations tribunal and has the jurisdiction to approve, register and terminate enterprise agreements. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for marine pilots working for Flinders Ports, a major port operator in South Australia. The pilots were represented by the Maritime Union of Australia, while Flinders Ports was represented by its legal counsel.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, including the requirement for the agreement to meet the "better off overall test". This test requires that the employees be no worse off financially, and at least some employees must be better off financially, when comparing the terms of the proposed agreement to the applicable award or safety net. Another issue was whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission determined that the agreement met the better off overall test, as some employees were better off and none were worse off financially. The Commission also found that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Fair Work Act. The Commission approved the agreement, noting the cooperative approach taken by both parties during the bargaining process and the benefits the agreement would bring to the employees in terms of job security and improved working conditions.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission were that the Flinders Ports Marine Pilots Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018 be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act. The agreement came into effect from the date of the Commission's decision, binding both the employer and the employees to its terms for the duration of the agreement.

Flinders Ports Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established