Linx Cargo Care Pty Ltd T/A Linx Cargo Care

[2024] FWCA 4666

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Linx Cargo Care Pty Ltd T/A Linx Cargo Care

(AG2024/4744)

LINX DARWIN ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

Stevedoring industry
COMMISSIONER REDFORD	MELBOURNE, 24 DECEMBER 2024

Application for approval of the LINX Darwin Enterprise Agreement 2025

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the LINX Darwin Enterprise Agreement 2025 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Linx Cargo Care Pty Ltd T/A Linx Cargo Care (Linx). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Interaction with the National Employment Standards

Clause 9.3 of the Agreement provides that the National Employment Standards (NES) applies to employees covered by the agreement except where the agreement provides a more favourable outcome (NES precedence clause). On this basis, I am satisfied that the apparent inconsistencies with the NES outlined below do not prevent the approval of this agreement:

a.Clause 37.7 of the Agreement provides for compassionate leave, however it is silent in relation to the entitlement in circumstances when an employee, their spouse, or de facto partner has a miscarriage or gives birth to a stillborn child. Section 104(1)(c) of the Act provides for compassionate leave in these circumstances. On the basis of the NES precedence clause, the superior entitlement provided for in the NES will apply. 

Consideration

Several matters were raised with Linx relating to whether each award covered employee, and each reasonably foreseeable employee would be better off overall if the agreement applied to the employee than if the relevant modern award applied to the employee. Taking into account the submissions made by Linx in response to those matters, 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.

The Maritime Union of Australia (Division of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union) (MUA) 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 MUA.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate 7 days after approval.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Linx Cargo Care Pty Ltd, trading as Linx Cargo Care, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the LINX Darwin Enterprise Agreement 2025. The applicant, Linx Cargo Care, sought to have the agreement registered as a single interest employer agreement, which would then be applicable to its employees covered by the agreement. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, which had to determine whether the agreement met the necessary legal standards for approval.

The primary legal issue the court needed to address was whether the LINX Darwin Enterprise Agreement 2025 complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to examine whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act, whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it adhered to the principles of the Fair Work Act, including those related to procedural fairness.

The Fair Work Commission found that the LINX Darwin Enterprise Agreement 2025 met all the necessary requirements for approval. The court noted that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Fair Work Act and that it had been made in good faith. Furthermore, the court was satisfied that the agreement adhered to the principles of the Act, including procedural fairness. Consequently, the application was approved, and the agreement was registered as a single interest employer agreement. The decision confirmed that the agreement would now apply to the relevant employees covered by it.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established