DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

JR Engineering Pty Ltd / JR Conveyors Pty Ltd
(AG2016/3136)

JR ENGINEERING PTY LTD / JR CONVEYORS PTY LTD SOUTH/WESTERN DISTRICT WORKPLACE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Coal industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMBERGER	SYDNEY, 19 MAY 2016

Application for approval of the JR Engineering Pty Ltd / JR Conveyors Pty Ltd South/Western District Workplace Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the JR Engineering Pty Ltd / JR Conveyors Pty Ltd South/Western District Workplace Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made by JR Engineering Pty Ltd and JR Conveyors Pty Ltd pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act).

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy 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) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and will operate from 26 May 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 May 2018.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

CaseChat Overview and Summary

JR Engineering Pty Ltd and JR Conveyors Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of their South/Western District Workplace Enterprise Agreement 2016. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking to have the agreement registered as a low-paid workplace enterprise agreement, which would allow it to be registered without a vote of employees. The nature of the dispute was to determine the eligibility of the agreement for registration as a low-paid workplace enterprise agreement.

The primary legal issue the Fair Work Commission had to decide was whether the agreement met the criteria for a low-paid workplace enterprise agreement as set out in section 178 of the Fair Work Act. The Commission needed to assess if the majority of employees covered by the agreement earned an average weekly ordinary time earnings below the low-paid threshold. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions as required by the Act.

In reaching its decision, the Fair Work Commission examined the evidence provided by JR Engineering Pty Ltd and JR Conveyors Pty Ltd, which included data on the earnings of the employees covered by the agreement. The Commission determined that the majority of employees did earn below the low-paid threshold and that the agreement contained all the required minimum terms and conditions. As a result, the Commission approved the application and registered the agreement as a low-paid workplace enterprise agreement.

Consequently, the Fair Work Commission's final order was that the South/Western District Workplace Enterprise Agreement 2016 between JR Engineering Pty Ltd and JR Conveyors Pty Ltd be approved and registered as a low-paid workplace enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act.

JR Engineering Pty Ltd / JR Conveyors 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