LINX Portlink Pty Ltd

[2022] FWCA 1402

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

LINX Portlink Pty Ltd

(AG2022/1036)

LINX Logistics Southern NSW Region Enterprise Agreement 2021

Road transport industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 26 APRIL 2022

Application for approval of the LINX Logistics Southern NSW Region Enterprise Agreement 2021

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the LINX Logistics Southern NSW Region Enterprise Agreement 2021 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Employer has provided written undertakings (Undertakings). A copy of the Undertakings is attached in Annexure A to this decision. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the Undertakings is not likely to:

(a) cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement; or

(b) result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

Pursuant to subsection 190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings. The Undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Subject to the Undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Transport Workers’ Union of Australia, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under section 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with subsection 201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with section 54 of the Act, will operate from 3 May 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 5 February 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of LINX Portlink Pty Ltd, the applicant sought approval of the LINX Logistics Southern NSW Region Enterprise Agreement 2021. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, as a registered organisation agreement, which would make it applicable to employees in the Southern NSW region. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) was the tribunal before which the application was made.

The key legal issue that arose in this case was whether the applicant had satisfied the requirements of section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant had to demonstrate that it had a sufficient interest in the employees to be able to apply for the agreement to be registered. Additionally, the applicant had to show that the agreement had been made in good faith, and that it met the requirements of the modern awards and the national employment standards.

The FWC found that the applicant had satisfied all the requirements of section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant had a sufficient interest in the employees, as it was a registered organisation that represented the interests of employers in the logistics industry. The FWC also found that the agreement had been made in good faith, and that it met the requirements of the modern awards and the national employment standards. The FWC approved the agreement, and it became applicable to employees in the Southern NSW region.

The final orders of the FWC were that the LINX Logistics Southern NSW Region Enterprise Agreement 2021 be approved and registered as a registered organisation agreement under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered from the date of the decision, and it was to apply to employees in the Southern NSW region.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established