DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2020/49)

GODFREY HIRST LOGISTICS COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2020

Storage services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 7 FEBRUARY 2020

Application for approval of the Godfrey Hirst Logistics Collective Agreement 2020

[1] Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Godfrey Hirst Logistics Collective Agreement 2020 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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] The United Workers’ 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 7 February 2020 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 14 February 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 January 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd, and the dispute was about the approval of the Godfrey Hirst Logistics Collective Agreement 2020. The Commission was required to determine whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was brought by the employer, Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd, seeking the Commission's approval of the proposed collective agreement. The agreement sought to regulate various employment terms and conditions for employees within the logistics sector.

The primary legal issues that the Commission had to address were whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements outlined in the Fair Work Act, particularly sections 227 and 230. These sections require that the agreement provides for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment, and that it was not made under duress or in a manner that was not genuinely free of coercion. Additionally, the Commission needed to ensure that the agreement was made in good faith and without any undue influence or pressure exerted on the employees. The employer argued that the agreement was negotiated in good faith and that it provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees.

The Commission found that the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval. The employer had demonstrated that the agreement was negotiated in good faith and that it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also noted that the employees had been given sufficient time to consider the agreement and that they had been provided with adequate information to make an informed decision. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was not made under any duress or undue influence, and that it complied with the statutory provisions of the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the Godfrey Hirst Logistics Collective Agreement 2020.

Godfrey Hirst 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