DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Great Southern Rail Limited T/A Great Southern Rail
(AG2018/6763)

GREAT SOUTHERN RAIL TRAIN TECHNICIANS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT 2018

Rail industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 6 FEBRUARY 2019

Application for approval of the Great Southern Rail Train Technicians Employment Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Great Southern Rail Train Technicians Employment Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Great Southern Rail Limited T/A Great Southern Rail. 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.

[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] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 13 February 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Great Southern Rail Limited T/A Great Southern Rail, the Fair Work Commission was tasked with approving the Great Southern Rail Train Technicians Employment Agreement 2018. The agreement was proposed to be applied to employees who are train technicians, or who would have been train technicians but for their employment having been terminated. The legal issues the court needed to address included whether the agreement satisfied the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in relation to the process by which the agreement was made and whether it appropriately covered the relevant employees.

The Fair Work Commission considered whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act. It was necessary to establish that the agreement had been made genuinely, and that it had been made free from any improper influence or coercion. The Commission also examined whether the agreement contained appropriate terms and conditions of employment, and whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances. After reviewing the submissions and evidence provided by both parties, the Commission concluded that the agreement had been made in a manner that complied with the Act, and that it contained appropriate terms and conditions.

Following its analysis, the Fair Work Commission approved the Great Southern Rail Train Technicians Employment Agreement 2018. This approval was based on the finding that the agreement had been made genuinely, and that it was fair and reasonable in all the circumstances. The Commission determined that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, and was therefore suitable for registration. The decision confirmed that the agreement would be applicable to the relevant employees, providing a clear framework for their employment terms and conditions.

Great Southern Rail Limited T/A Great Southern Rail

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established