DECISION

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

OSM Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2021/5112)

OSM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD AND MUA OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Maritime industry
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 2 JUNE 2021

Application for approval of the OSM Australia Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and Gas Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] OSM Australia Pty Ltd (the Applicant) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the OSM Australia Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and Gas Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On 19 May 2021, my Chambers contacted the parties to seek clarification about aspects of the Agreement and invited the Applicant to address these matters including through the provision of an undertaking.

[3] The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 1 June 2021. The undertaking deals with the following topics:

• That the agreement will commence 7 days after the approval decision.

• The Applicant has inserted a National Employment Standards (NES) precedence clause.

• Trainees are provided minimum entitlements consistent with the Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award 2020 (or any replacement award) classification.

[4] A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representative and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representative that responded, consented to the undertaking.

[5] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[6] As the Agreement does not contain a consultation term which meets the requirements of s.205 of the Act, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[7] The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[8] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188, and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[9] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days after the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 10 October 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

In the Fair Work Commission, OSM Australia Pty Ltd applied for approval of the OSM Australia Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and Gas Enterprise Agreement 2021. The dispute centred on whether the enterprise agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and was made in good faith. The Fair Work Commission was required to determine if the agreement adhered to the relevant statutory provisions and was made free from any procedural defects or coercion.

The central legal issues addressed by the Commission involved the interpretation of the good faith requirement under the Fair Work Act and the procedural fairness of the bargaining process. Specifically, the Commission needed to assess whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties and if there were any procedural shortcomings in the agreement process. The Commission also examined whether the agreement met the requirements for minimal terms and conditions as prescribed by the Act.

The Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and complied with the statutory requirements. It concluded that the bargaining process was free from procedural defects and that the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval. The Commission was satisfied that the parties had genuinely negotiated the terms and that the agreement was fair and reasonable. Consequently, the Commission approved the OSM Australia Pty Ltd and MUA Offshore Oil and Gas Enterprise Agreement 2021.

OSM Australia 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