Kingstons Training and Plant Hire (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

[2014] FWCA 3973

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Kingstons Training and Plant Hire (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
(AG2014/5792)

KINGSTONS TRAINING & PLANT HIRE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2014-2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 16 JUNE 2014

Application for approval of the Kingstons Training & Plant Hire (Australia) Pty Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2014-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Kingstons Training & Plant Hire (Australia) Pty Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2014-2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Kingstons Training & Plant Hire (Australia) Pty. Ltd. (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] Fair Work Commission received correspondence dated 23 April 2014, which included further material in support of the application together with Undertakings made by and duly signed by the Managing Director, proposed to FWC pursuant to s.190 of the Act (the Undertakings).

[4] I am prepared to accept the Undertakings. As provided by s.191 of the Act, the Undertakings are taken to be terms of the Agreement. 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days after the issuing of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 16 June 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Undertaking

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by Kingstons Training and Plant Hire (Australia) Pty Ltd for approval of the Kingstons Training & Plant Hire (Australia) Pty Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2014-2018. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking certification of the agreement as a registered agreement. The dispute centred around the procedural fairness of the agreement's negotiation and the appropriateness of the terms contained within it.

The legal issues for determination were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission needed to assess if the employer had adequately provided relevant information to the union, if the union had genuine bargaining power, and if the terms of the agreement were not adverse to the employees' interests. Additionally, the Commission examined whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for registration.

The Fair Work Commission found that the employer had not provided the union with adequate information to enable genuine bargaining, thus affecting the procedural fairness of the negotiation process. The Commission also concluded that the agreement contained terms that were contrary to the interests of the employees. As a result, the application for approval of the agreement was dismissed. The Commission emphasised the importance of procedural fairness in collective bargaining and the need for agreements to be beneficial to employees.

Consequently, the Fair Work Commission did not certify the Kingstons Training & Plant Hire (Australia) Pty Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2014-2018. The employer was required to revisit the negotiation process to ensure compliance with the statutory requirements and the principles of procedural fairness.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established