DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Qube Ports Pty Ltd T/A Qube Ports
(AG2021/6105)

QUBE PORTS PTY LTD PORT OF PORT HEDLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Stevedoring industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 9 AUGUST 2021

Application for approval of the Qube Ports Pty Ltd Port of Port Hedland Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Qube Ports Pty Ltd Port of Port Hedland Enterprise Agreement 2020 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Qube Ports Pty Ltd T/A Qube Ports. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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.

[4] 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 16 August 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2024.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Qube Ports Pty Ltd, trading as Qube Ports, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Qube Ports Pty Ltd Port of Port Hedland Enterprise Agreement 2020. The application was contested by the Maritime Union of Australia. The nature of the dispute was whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and if it could be approved as a registered enterprise agreement.

The central legal issue the Fair Work Commission had to decide was whether the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. This included assessing whether the agreement had been made in good faith, whether it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions, and whether the process for its making complied with the procedural requirements of the Act. Additionally, the Commission needed to determine whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace and adequately protected the interests of both employers and employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission concluded that the agreement was made in good faith and contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the process for making the agreement complied with the procedural requirements of the Act. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace and adequately protected the interests of both employers and employees. Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Qube Ports Pty Ltd Port of Port Hedland Enterprise Agreement 2020.

Qube Ports Pty Ltd T/A Qube Ports

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established