Rivet Mining Services Pty Ltd T/A Rivet Mining Services

[2022] FWCA 3357

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Rivet Mining Services Pty Ltd T/A Rivet Mining Services

(AG2022/3627)

Rivet Mining Services Drivers (Goldfield / Midwest) Enterprise Agreement 2022

Mining industry
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS	PERTH, 28 SEPTEMBER 2022

Application for approval of the Rivet Mining Services Drivers (Goldfields / Midwest) Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Rivet Mining Services Drivers (Goldfields / Midwest) Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Rivet Mining Services Pty Ltd T/A Rivet Mining Services. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 5 October 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 28 September 2025.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application before the Fair Work Commission was made by Rivet Mining Services Pty Ltd trading as Rivet Mining Services for the approval of the Rivet Mining Services Drivers (Goldfields/Midwest) Enterprise Agreement 2022. The applicants sought the agreement's approval under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, as it was a low paid enterprise agreement and the Commission was required to approve it if it met certain criteria. The dispute centred on the applicants' contention that the agreement complied with the requirements of the Act and should be approved, while the respondents argued that the agreement did not meet the necessary standards for approval.

The legal issues before the Commission involved assessing whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements outlined in the Fair Work Act 2009. This included determining if the agreement met the low paid threshold, which required that more than half of the employees covered by the agreement earned an annual salary of less than $85,600. Further, the Commission had to ensure that the agreement did not include any terms that were less favourable than the relevant awards or the National Employment Standards. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether the process for its making met the requirements of the Act.

The Commission found that the agreement met the low paid threshold, as the majority of the employees earned less than the statutory amount. It also determined that the agreement did not include any terms that were less favourable than the applicable awards or the National Employment Standards. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been made in good faith and that the process for its making complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. Consequently, the Commission approved the Rivet Mining Services Drivers (Goldfields/Midwest) Enterprise Agreement 2022.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established