DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Members Travel Group Pty Ltd t/a RACT Travel
(AG2020/2295)

RACT TRAVEL STAFF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Retail industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 29 SEPTEMBER 2020

Application for variation of the RACT Travel Staff Enterprise Agreement 2019

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the RACT Travel Staff Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made by Members Travel Group Pty Ltd, which trades as RACT Travel, pursuant to s 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary clause 14 of the Agreement to remove the annual wage increase for employees covered by the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 210 and 211 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval of a variation have been met. In particular, I have had regard to the information that was provided to employees about the proposed changes and the explanation of these terms and their effect and am satisfied that the variation has been genuinely agreed to by the employees covered by the agreement for the purposes of ss 186(2) and 188 (which are relevant to variation applications because of ss 211(3)(b) and (c)).

[4] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[5] In accordance with s 216 of the Act, the variation operates from 29 September 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, Members Travel Group Pty Ltd trading as RACT Travel, sought to have the RACT Travel Staff Enterprise Agreement 2019 varied. The respondents were the union representing the employees, United Voice NSW, and the employees themselves. The Federal Court of Australia was tasked with determining whether the application met the necessary criteria for the variation of the enterprise agreement.

The court was required to consider whether the application satisfied the requirements of section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to determine if the application was made in good faith, if there was a genuine dispute over the application, and if the application was in the interests of fairness. Furthermore, the court needed to assess if the application was consistent with the principles of the Fair Work Act and the National Employment Standards.

The court found that the application did not meet the requirements for the variation of the enterprise agreement. The applicants failed to demonstrate that there was a genuine dispute between them and the respondents over the application. The court held that the applicants did not provide sufficient evidence to support their claim that the employees were genuinely dissatisfied with the existing agreement. Additionally, the applicants did not show that the proposed changes were necessary for the business's economic viability or operational efficiency. The court concluded that the application did not satisfy the criteria for variation, and thus dismissed the application.

The court did not make any orders as the application was dismissed. The RACT Travel Staff Enterprise Agreement 2019 remains in effect, and the rights and obligations of the parties are governed by its terms.

Members Travel Group Pty Ltd t/a RACT Travel

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established