Macmahon Contractors Pty Ltd

[2019] FWCA 6000

[2019] FWCA 6000

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009
Item 16 Sch. 3—Termination of transitional instrument

Macmahon Contractors Pty Ltd
(AG2019/3144)

MACMAHON EAGLEFIELD COAL MINE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2008

Mining industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT	PERTH, 10 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for termination of the Application for termination of the Macmahon Eaglefield Coal Mine Collective Agreement 2008.

[1] On 23 August 2019, Macmahon Contractors Pty Ltd (Applicant) applied pursuant to Schedule 3, Item 16 of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Cth) (Transitional Act) to terminate the Macmahon Eaglefield Coal Mine Collective Agreement 2008 (Agreement) (Application).

[2] The Agreement is a collective agreement-based transitional instrument to which Item 16 of Schedule 3 of the Transitional Act applies. The effect of Item 16 is that the termination of agreement provisions found in Subdivision D of Division 7 - Part 2-4 the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) applies to the Agreement as if a reference to an enterprise agreement included a reference to a collective agreement-based transitional instrument.

[3] Sections 225 and 226 of the Act provide:

225 Application for termination of an enterprise agreement after its nominal expiry date

If an enterprise agreement has passed its nominal expiry date, any of the following may apply to the FWC for the termination of the agreement:

(a) one or more of the employers covered by the agreement;

(b) an employee covered by the agreement;

(c) an employee organisation covered by the agreement.

226 When the FWC must terminate an enterprise agreement

If an application for the termination of an enterprise agreement is made under section 225, the FWC must terminate the agreement if:

(a) the FWC is satisfied that it is not contrary to the public interest to do so; and

(b) the FWC considers that it is appropriate to terminate the agreement taking into account all the circumstances including:

(i) the views of the employees, each employer, and each employee organisation (if any), covered by the agreement; and

(ii) the circumstances of those employees, employers and organisations including the likely effect that the termination will have on each of them.

[4] The Agreement covers the Applicant’s operations at Eaglefield Coal Mine project in Queensland, and any seconded, subsidiary, joint venture, successor, assignee or transmittee businesses engaged in those operations. Ms Victoria Bucknell, HR Superintendent of the Applicant, submitted a statutory declaration in support of the Application in which she outlined that the Applicant’s contract on the Eaglefield Coal Mine project had ceased Ms Bucknell also submitted that there were no employees employed at the site.

[5] The former Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (Mining and Energy Division) and now Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) is covered by the Agreement.

[6] The CFMMEU was invited to provide its view on the Application on 29 August 2019. It has not opposed the Application.

[7] I note that this Agreement was approved by the former Workplace Authority under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WR Act). The Fair Work Act 2009 came into force, and superseded the WR Act on 1 July 2009. According to s 352(1)(b) of the WR Act, the nominal expiry date of an enterprise agreement such as the Agreement, is no later than the fifth anniversary of the date the agreement was lodged. Therefore, the nominal expiry date of the Agreement has inevitably passed.

[8] Based on the material contained in the statutory declaration of the Applicant filed with the Application, I am satisfied that the termination of the Agreement is not contrary to the public interest. Taking into account all of the circumstances including those in ss 226(b)(i) and (ii), I consider that it is appropriate to terminate the Agreement. Pursuant to s 227 of the Act the termination is to take effect on and from the date of this decision.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

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