DECISION

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

McColl's Group Holdings Pty Ltd
(AG2019/3055)

MCCOLL'S TRANSPORT PTY LTD WESTERN AUSTRALIA BULK CHEMICAL AGREEMENT 2018 - 2021

Road transport industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT	PERTH, 25 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the McColl's Transport Pty Ltd Western Australia Bulk Chemicals Collective Agreement 2018 - 2021.

[1] McColl’s Group Holdings Pty Ltd has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the McColl's Transport Pty Ltd Western Australia Bulk Chemical Agreement 2018 - 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant informed the Commission that McColls Group Holdings Pty Ltdis the holding company of two employing entities within its group. Those two employing entities are McColl’s Transport Pty Ltd and McColl’s Tankers Pty Ltd, both of whom employed the employees who were to be covered by the Agreement at the relevant time. However, the Notice of Employee Representational Rights given to the relevant employees cited only the one entity – McColl’s Transport Pty Ltd. It is observed that the legal employing entities and employers remained the same at all relevant times. In the circumstances and having regard to the decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited t/a RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics and Others, 1 I am satisfied that:

a) the omission of McColl’s Tankers Pty Ltd from the Notice of Employee Representation Rights constitutes a minor technical error for the purposes of s 188(2)(a); and

b) the employees to be covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error.

[3] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[4] In compliance with s 190(4) of the Act, the bargaining representative’s views regarding the undertakings proffered were sought. They were provided with the opportunity to raise and address any objections they had to the undertakings proffered by the Applicant. No objection was raised.

[5] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 25 September 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 2 November 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Annexure A

1 [2019] FWCFB 318.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

McColl's Group Holdings Pty Ltd recently applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the McColl's Transport Pty Ltd Western Australia Bulk Chemicals Collective Agreement 2018 - 2021. The dispute concerns the terms and conditions of employment for workers within the bulk chemicals transport sector in Western Australia. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the proposed agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement provided for the proper protection of employee interests, including minimum entitlements and other terms and conditions of employment. Additionally, the Commission needed to assess if the agreement was made in good faith and if it aligned with the Fair Work Act's objectives, particularly concerning the avoidance of industrial action and the promotion of cooperative workplace relations.

In reaching its decision, the Commission considered various submissions and evidence presented by the parties involved. It assessed the proposed agreement against statutory criteria, including whether it met the requirements for being a "modern award." The Commission found that the agreement provided adequate protections for employees, was made in good faith, and aligned with the objectives of the Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the McColl's Transport Pty Ltd Western Australia Bulk Chemicals Collective Agreement 2018 - 2021, affirming its compliance with the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act. This decision ensures that employees within the bulk chemicals transport sector in Western Australia have their terms and conditions of employment appropriately regulated by a certified agreement.

McColl's Group Holdings Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established