DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd
(AG2021/4126)

IRON MOUNTAIN AUSTRALIA GROUP SERVICES PTY LTD SECURE DESTRUCTION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Waste management industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 27 APRIL 2021

Application for approval of the Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd Secure Destruction Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd Secure Destruction Enterprise Agreement 2021 (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 at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and 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 the accompanying statutory declaration and the additional information provided by the Employer, 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] Pursuant to s 202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] I observe that clauses 16.2(b) and 27.1(a)(ii) of the Agreement are likely to be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (NES). However, noting clause 37 of the Agreement, I am satisfied the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 27 April 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 4 May 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd, a company providing document storage and destruction services, applied for approval of the Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd Secure Destruction Enterprise Agreement 2021. The application was before the Fair Work Commission, which is tasked with regulating industrial relations in Australia. The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was genuinely a product of the bargaining process and whether it provided for a fair and reasonable enterprise-wide award safety net.

The Commission considered the evidence and submissions from the parties, including the company's representatives and the employees' union. It assessed whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, meaning it was negotiated between the employer and the employees and was not imposed by the employer. The Commission also examined whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable safety net, ensuring that employees were not worse off than they would be under the applicable award. The Commission held that the agreement met the necessary criteria and was genuinely a product of the bargaining process. It found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable safety net, and therefore approved the agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Iron Mountain Australia Group Services Pty Ltd Secure Destruction Enterprise Agreement 2021, finding it to be a genuine enterprise agreement and one that provided for a fair and reasonable safety net. The Commission considered the evidence and submissions from both parties, and found that the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval. The final orders of the Commission were that the agreement be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Iron Mountain Australia Group Services 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