DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

ResourceCo Pty Ltd T/A ResourceCo
(AG2017/4723)

RESOURCECO PTY LTD QUARRYING INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Quarrying industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 20 FEBRUARY 2018

Application for approval of the ResourceCo Pty Ltd Quarrying Industry Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the ResourceCo Pty Ltd Quarrying Industry Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by ResourceCo Pty Ltd T/A ResourceCo. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 20 February 2018 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 27 February 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of ResourceCo Pty Ltd trading as ResourceCo, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) was tasked with considering an application for the approval of the ResourceCo Pty Ltd Quarrying Industry Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was brought by ResourceCo, and the opposition came from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The dispute centred on whether the enterprise agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically with regard to the provision of fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the enterprise agreement provided for the fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment as required by section 235(1)(a) of the Fair Work Act. This involved assessing the procedural fairness of the bargaining process and the substantive fairness of the terms within the agreement. The CFMEU argued that the agreement was not fairly and reasonably provided, citing procedural issues in the bargaining process and substantive concerns about the terms of the agreement, particularly regarding pay and conditions.

The FWC found that the agreement was fairly and reasonably provided. The Commission determined that the bargaining process had been conducted fairly and that the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for the fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment as required by the Act. The procedural fairness of the bargaining process was upheld, and the substantive terms were found to be appropriate in the context of the industry and the bargaining parties' positions.

Following this determination, the FWC approved the ResourceCo Pty Ltd Quarrying Industry Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017. The decision was made in favour of ResourceCo, and the agreement was certified as meeting the legal requirements for approval. The CFMEU's objections were dismissed, and the agreement was registered with the Fair Work Commission, becoming a legally binding enterprise agreement for the employees covered by it.

ResourceCo Pty Ltd T/A ResourceCo

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established