Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd Summary

[2021] FWCA 7172

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.225—Enterprise agreement

Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd
(AG2021/8733)

IRON MOUNTAIN AUSTRALIA GROUP SERVICES PTY LTD - ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Storage services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 17 DECEMBER 2021

Application for termination of the Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd - Enterprise Agreement 2018

[1] Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd (Iron Mountain) is covered by the Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd - Enterprise Agreement 2018 (Agreement) and has made an application to terminate the Agreement pursuant to s 225 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The nominal expiry date of the Agreement was 20 June 2021.

[2] There are no employee organisations covered by the Agreement.

[3] There are 2 employees covered by the Agreement.

[4] On 6 December 2021, I made the following directions in this matter:

1. By 4pm on 8 December 2021, Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd (Iron Mountain) must:

a. provide a copy of these directions to all employees covered by the Agreement, together with a copy of the Form F24B and Form F24C filed by Iron Mountain in the Fair Work Commission in support of its application to terminate the Agreement; and

b. inform, in writing, the employees covered by the Agreement that they have until 4pm on 15 December 2021 to inform the Fair Work Commission of their views in relation to the application to terminate the Agreement.

2. By 4pm on 14 December 2021, Iron Mountain must file in the Fair Work Commission a statutory declaration setting out the steps it took to comply with direction 1 above.

3. By 4pm on 15 December 2021, any employee covered by the Agreement who either opposes the termination of the Agreement or wishes to inform the Fair Work Commission of their views in relation to the application to terminate the Agreement, must file in the Commission any submissions, written statements and documents they wish to rely on in relation to the application to terminate the Agreement. Any such material may be filed in the Commission by emailing it to chambers.saunders.dp@fwc.gov.au.

[5] On 8 December 2021 Iron Mountain filed a statutory declaration made by Mr Deepak Rawat, Senior Human Resources Business Partner, confirming that Iron Mountain had complied with direction 1 made on 6 December 2021.

[6] I am satisfied that the employees covered by the Agreement have been given an opportunity to inform the Fair Work Commission (Commission) of their views in relation to the application to terminate the Agreement. The Commission has not received any communication from an employee covered by the Agreement in relation to the application to terminate the Agreement.

[7] Having regard to the information contained in Ms Rawat’s statutory declaration made on 8 December 2021 in support of the application for termination of the Agreement, I am satisfied that: 1

● termination of the Agreement is not contrary to the public interest; and

● it is appropriate to terminate the Agreement taking account all the circumstances including:

○ the views of the employees covered by the Agreement and Iron Mountain; and

○ the circumstances of those employees and Iron Mountain including the likely effect that the termination will have on each of them.

[8] Accordingly, I terminate the Agreement with effect from midnight on Sunday, 19 December 2021. An order [PR736857] giving effect to this decision will be issued today.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

1 Section 226 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)

Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd brought an application to terminate an enterprise agreement in the Fair Work Commission. The agreement was entered into with the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union. The dispute centred on the parties' inability to agree on new terms for the agreement and the impact of the current terms on the company's business operations. The legal issues that arose were whether the commission had the authority to terminate the agreement and if the application met the criteria for termination under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The commission began by considering the statutory framework that governed enterprise agreements. It noted that the Act provided for the termination of agreements under specific circumstances, such as where there was a significant change in the circumstances of one of the parties. The commission then examined the application to determine if it met the statutory criteria for termination. The company argued that changes in the business environment, including economic pressures and shifts in the industry, constituted a significant change in circumstances. The union opposed the application, asserting that the changes were not significant enough to warrant termination and that the agreement was still operational.

After reviewing the evidence and arguments presented by both parties, the commission found that the application did not meet the criteria for termination. The commission concluded that the changes cited by the company did not amount to a significant change in circumstances that would justify terminating the agreement. It also noted that the agreement was still in force and that the parties had not been able to reach a new agreement through the processes provided under the Act. Consequently, the application was dismissed, and the enterprise agreement remained in effect.

No further orders were made by the commission, and the agreement remained in place unless and until the parties were able to negotiate a new agreement or the commission intervened under other provisions of the Act.

Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd

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