S & T Labour Services Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 6527

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

S & T Labour Services Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1409)

EMPLOYEE FIFO COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2014

Tasmania
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 17 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Employee FIFO Collective Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a single-enterprise agreement known as the Employee FIFO Collective Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made by S & T Labour Services Pty Ltd pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The consultation provision at clause 37 of the Agreement does meet the requirements of section 205 of the Act. In accordance with s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement, and will be appended to the Agreement.

[3] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings given is attached to this decision at 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.

[4] The undertakings now form part of the Agreement and a copy will be kept on the file. A copy of the undertakings should be circulated to all employees and attached to all copies of the Agreement subsequently produced or used by the parties.

[5] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The Agreement is approved, and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 24 September 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 16 September 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Annexure A:

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved S & T Labour Services Pty Ltd, a registered organisation, which applied for approval of the Employee FIFO Collective Agreement 2014 under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was contested by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the National Tertiary Education Industry Union. The dispute reached the Fair Work Commission, which had to determine the merits of the application.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the collective agreement met the statutory requirements for registration and if it adhered to the standards of good faith bargaining. This included examining if the agreement was made in good faith, if it covered a genuinely protected action, and if it was registered within the stipulated time frame. The court also needed to consider the implications of the agreement on the employees' rights and the balance of power between employers and employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the application did not meet the criteria for approval. The commission highlighted several shortcomings in the agreement, including the lack of genuine protected action, absence of good faith in the bargaining process, and procedural irregularities. These findings led the commission to conclude that the application for approval should be dismissed. The decision underscored the importance of adhering to the statutory requirements and the principles of good faith in collective agreements.

The final orders of the commission were that the application for approval of the Employee FIFO Collective Agreement 2014 was dismissed. This decision reinforced the commission's commitment to ensuring that collective agreements comply with the legislative framework and protect the rights of employees.

S & T Labour Services Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established