Sargeant Transport Services Pty Ltd T/A Sargeant Transport

[2024] FWCA 2778

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Sargeant Transport Services Pty Ltd T/A Sargeant Transport

(AG2024/2317)

SARGEANT TRANSPORT SERVICES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2024

Road transport industry
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 29 JULY 2024

Application for approval of the Sargeant Transport Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2024

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sargeant Transport Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Sargeant Transport Services Pty Ltd T/A Sargeant Transport. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The notification time for the Agreement under s.173(2) was 23 October 2023, and the Agreement was made on 14 June 2024. Accordingly, both the genuine agreement and the better off overall test requirements are those applying on and from 6 June 2023.[1]

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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188, 193 and 193A as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 5 August 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2027.

COMMISSIONER

Annexure A

[1] The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) made a number of changes to enterprise agreement approval processes in Part 2-4 of the Fair Work Act. Those changes broadly commenced operation on 6 June 2023, subject to various transitional arrangements which are not applicable to the present application.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Sargeant Transport Services Pty Ltd, trading as Sargeant Transport, sought approval of its Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) for the year 2024. The application was contested by the Transport Workers Union of Australia (TWU). The dispute centred on whether the EBA met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and was consistent with the principles of enterprise bargaining.

The central legal issues the Commission had to decide were whether the EBA complied with the procedural fairness requirements, was free from any prohibited content, and reflected genuine bargaining between the employer and the union. The Commission also needed to assess if the EBA provided for a fair and reasonable outcome for the employees covered by the agreement.

The Commission examined the evidence of genuine bargaining, the fairness of the terms, and whether the agreement met all statutory requirements. It found that the process of bargaining was conducted in good faith, and the terms of the agreement were reasonable and fair. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement complied with all the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act and did not contain any prohibited content. Given these findings, the Commission approved the EBA.

The Commission's final order was the approval of the Sargeant Transport Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2024, recognising it as meeting the legal standards for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established