Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 8209

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7881)

GEOKINETICS (AUSTRALASIA) PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Mining industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT ASBURY	BRISBANE, 18 NOVEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd applies for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014 (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] 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] On 17 November 2014 undertakings were provided by the Employer. Pursuant to s.190 of the Act, I accept the Employer’s undertakings. In accordance with s.201(3) of the Act I note that a copy of the undertakings is attached to the Agreement and forms part of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 25 November 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 18 November 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd was the applicant in an application to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014. The applicant is a geophysical services company with operations across Australia. The application followed a meeting of the Commission at which it was determined that the agreement was in the public interest and should be approved. The company's employees were represented by the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia, which opposed the application on various grounds.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the terms of the proposed agreement were in the public interest. The Commission noted that the application for approval of the agreement had been made by the applicant in good faith and that the agreement had been the product of genuine and meaningful negotiations between the parties. The Commission also noted that the terms of the agreement were consistent with the national system of industrial determination and the relevant legislative framework. The Commission considered the arguments of the union and the submissions of the applicant in determining that the agreement was in the public interest.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014. The Commission found that the agreement was in the public interest and that it complied with the requirements of the relevant legislation. The Commission considered the terms of the agreement, including the provisions relating to wages, hours of work, and other conditions of employment, and determined that they were fair and reasonable. The Commission also noted that the agreement provided for a mechanism for resolving disputes between the parties and that it included provisions for the protection of employees' rights. The Commission concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and the broader community.

The Commission made an order approving the Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014. The order was made under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009 and took effect from the date of the Commission's decision. The order approved the agreement as a registered agreement for the purposes of the Act and authorised its use as a basis for determining the terms and conditions of employment for the employees of the applicant. The order also provided for the agreement to be registered in the Fair Work Commission's register of registered agreements.

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