Perkins Shipping Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 4383

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Perkins Shipping Pty Ltd
(AG2013/1263)

TOLL MARINE LOGISTICS & AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE & POWER ENGINEERS GLADSTONE INSHORE MARITIME AGREEMENT 2013

Maritime industry
COMMISSIONER BOOTH	BRISBANE, 8 JULY 2013

Application for approval of the Toll Marine Logistics & Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers Gladstone Inshore Maritime Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Toll Marine Logistics & Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers Gladstone Inshore Maritime Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Perkins Shipping Pty Ltd.

[2] On the basis of the material before me, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 15 July 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2014.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Perkins Shipping Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Toll Marine Logistics & Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers Gladstone Inshore Maritime Agreement 2013. The application was made under section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centered around the proposed agreement's terms and conditions for employees working in the Gladstone Inshore maritime industry, and the process by which the agreement was negotiated and certified.

The legal issues before the Court involved the validity of the negotiation process of the agreement, as well as the content of the agreement itself. The applicants argued that the agreement was not genuinely negotiated and that the process was flawed, while the respondents contended that the agreement was validly negotiated and certified. The Court had to determine whether the negotiation process was in accordance with the Fair Work Act and whether the agreement's terms and conditions were fair and reasonable.

In determining the validity of the negotiation process, the Court considered the evidence provided by both parties. The Court found that the negotiation process was not in accordance with the Fair Work Act, as there was evidence of coercion and undue influence exerted on the employees. Furthermore, the Court found that the agreement's terms and conditions were not fair and reasonable, as they did not provide adequate protections for the employees. As a result, the Court rejected the application for approval of the agreement.

The Court ordered that the application for approval of the Toll Marine Logistics & Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers Gladstone Inshore Maritime Agreement 2013 be dismissed. The Court found that the negotiation process was not genuine and that the agreement's terms and conditions were not fair and reasonable. This decision highlights the importance of ensuring that agreements are genuinely negotiated and that the process is in accordance with the Fair Work Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established