DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Karmitch T/A Terry Rhodes Earthmoving
(AG2019/3345)

TERRY RHODES EARTHMOVING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019-2023

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 14 OCTOBER 2019

Application for approval of the Terry Rhodes Earthmoving Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023.

[1] Karmitch T/A Terry Rhodes Earthmoving (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Terry Rhodes Earthmoving Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023 (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, 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] The Agreement was approved on 14 October 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 21 October 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 October 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this matter are Karmitch (trading as Terry Rhodes Earthmoving) and the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centres around the application for approval of the Enterprise Agreement between Karmitch and its employees, spanning from 2019 to 2023. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an independent statutory tribunal in Australia tasked with resolving workplace disputes.

The central legal issue that the Fair Work Commission had to decide was whether the Enterprise Agreement met the statutory criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement provided for the appropriate minimum terms and conditions of employment, if it was free from any unfair content, and if it had been genuinely negotiated. The fairness and the negotiation process of the agreement were key points of contention in this matter.

The Fair Work Commission examined the evidence presented regarding the negotiation process, the terms of the agreement, and its compliance with the statutory minimum standards. The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and did not contain any unfair provisions. The terms of the agreement were also found to meet or exceed the minimum standards set by the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Enterprise Agreement, confirming that it met the necessary criteria for approval.

The Fair Work Commission issued its decision approving the Enterprise Agreement between Karmitch and its employees. The approval was based on the findings that the agreement was genuinely negotiated, contained no unfair provisions, and provided terms and conditions that met or exceeded the statutory minimum standards. The approval of the agreement ensures that it will govern the employment conditions of the employees for the period specified.

Karmitch T/A Terry Rhodes Earthmoving

DECISION

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established