Harsco Metals Australia Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 1993

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Harsco Metals Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2014/4039)

HARSCO METALS AND MINERALS AUSTRALIA P/L AND THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION, ONE STEEL LAVERTON, COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 25 MARCH 2014

Application for approval of the Harsco Metals and Minerals Australia P/L and the Australian Workers’ Union, One Steel Laverton, Collective Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Harsco Metals and Minerals Australia P/L and the Australian Workers’ Union, One Steel Laverton, Collective Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Harsco Metals Australia Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] An undertaking has been given in relation to clause 32.8 of the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[4] The Australian 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. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 1 April 2014.The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2014.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Harsco Metals Australia Pty Ltd was the applicant in this matter before the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The applicant sought the approval of a collective agreement it had entered into with the Australian Workers’ Union, One Steel Laverton. The application was made under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The nature of the dispute was whether the collective agreement met the requirements for approval under the Act.

The legal issues that the FWC was required to decide included whether the collective agreement contained provisions that were not in the best interests of the employees and whether the agreement provided for the proper management of the workplace. Another issue was whether the agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of workplace disputes. The FWC also had to consider whether the agreement provided for the protection of employees’ rights and entitlements.

The FWC found that the collective agreement met the requirements for approval under the Act. The FWC noted that the agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of workplace disputes and provided for the protection of employees' rights and entitlements. The FWC also found that the agreement contained provisions that were in the best interests of the employees and provided for the proper management of the workplace. The FWC approved the collective agreement under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established