FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

LINX Cargo Care Pty Ltd T/A Linx Cargo Care
(AG2021/9328)

LINX PORT KEMBLA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Stevedoring Industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BINET	PERTH, 14 JANUARY 2022

Application for approval of the Linx Port Kembla Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Linx Port Kembla Enterprise Agreement 2021 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). The application has been made by Linx Cargo Care Pty Ltd (Linx).

[2] The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[3] Linx has provided a written undertaking and a copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A to this Decision. In accordance with s.191(1) of the Act, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

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

[5] The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 21 January 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Linx Cargo Care Pty Ltd, trading as Linx Cargo Care, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Linx Port Kembla Enterprise Agreement 2021. The application came before the Commission to determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement provided for minimum entitlements and whether it complied with procedural fairness.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement provided for the minimum entitlements mandated by the Act, and whether the agreement was made in accordance with procedural fairness. The minimum entitlements required included provisions for minimum wages, penalty rates, leave entitlements, and other employment conditions. Procedural fairness required that the agreement be genuinely negotiated and that the process followed was fair and transparent.

The Commission found that the agreement provided for the minimum entitlements as required by the Act. It noted that the agreement contained provisions for minimum wages, penalty rates, and leave entitlements that were consistent with the applicable awards and the national minimum standards. The Commission also found that the agreement was made in accordance with procedural fairness. It found that there was evidence of genuine negotiation between the parties and that the process followed was fair and transparent. Given these findings, the Commission approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Linx Port Kembla Enterprise Agreement 2021, finding that it provided for the minimum entitlements required by the Act and was made in accordance with procedural fairness. The Commission's decision ensures that the agreement will be binding on the parties and will provide a framework for the employment conditions of the workforce at Linx Cargo Care's Port Kembla facility.

LINX Cargo Care Pty Ltd T/A Linx Cargo Care

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established