REMONDIS Australia Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 3086

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

REMONDIS Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2014/5827)

REMONDIS AUSTRALIA SUNSHINE COAST WASTE COLLECTIONS GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014-2017

Waste management industry
COMMISSIONER ROBERTS	SYDNEY, 9 MAY 2014

Application for approval of the REMONDIS Australia Sunshine Coast Waste Collections Greenfields Agreement 2014-2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the REMONDIS Australia Sunshine Coast Waste Collections Greenfields Agreement 2014-2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by REMONDIS Australia Pty Ltd. The agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] I am satisfied each of the requirements of ss.186, and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. I am satisfied that Transport Workers’ Union of Australia is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 16 May 2014. The nominal expiry date will be 30 June 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involves an application by REMONDIS Australia Pty Ltd seeking approval of the REMONDIS Australia Sunshine Coast Waste Collections Greenfields Agreement 2014-2017. The matter was heard by the Fair Work Commission, the industrial relations tribunal in Australia. The applicant, REMONDIS Australia, is a waste management company, and the respondent is a union representing the employees of the applicant. The dispute centres on the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement and whether it meets the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue the Commission had to address was whether the proposed agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement contained the minimum terms and conditions as required by the Act, including the preservation of any higher terms and conditions previously negotiated, and whether it complied with the "better off overall test" to ensure that employees were not worse off financially under the new agreement. The Commission also considered whether the agreement had been fairly and properly made, taking into account the process of employee consultation and the level of employee participation in the negotiation of the agreement.

The Commission examined the evidence presented by both parties and found that the proposed agreement met all the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act. The agreement preserved all the higher terms and conditions of the previous agreement, and the Commission was satisfied that employees would not be worse off financially. The Commission noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, with adequate consultation and participation from the employees. Consequently, the Commission approved the proposed agreement, finding it to be in accordance with the law and fair and reasonable in all respects.

The final orders of the Commission were that the REMONDIS Australia Sunshine Coast Waste Collections Greenfields Agreement 2014-2017 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. The agreement was to be registered by the Commission and would come into effect from the date of the decision. The approval of the agreement meant that it would bind both the employer and the employees, and the terms of the agreement would govern the employment conditions for the specified period.

REMONDIS Australia Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established