DECISION

Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009
Sch. 3, Item 15 - Application by agreement to terminate collective agreement-based transitional instrument

SeaLink Travel Group Limited
(AG2015/5102)

AUSTRALIAN PACIFIC TOURING PTY LTD KANGAROO ISLAND KITCHEN EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2009

Hospitality industry
COMMISSIONER HAMPTON	ADELAIDE, 30 SEPTEMBER 2015

Application for termination of the Australian Pacific Touring Pty Ltd Kangaroo Island Kitchen Employee Collective Agreement 2009.

[1] An application has been made pursuant to Item 15 Sch. 3 of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 to terminate the Australian Pacific Touring Pty Ltd Kangaroo Island Kitchen Employee Collective Agreement 2009 (the Agreement). The nominal expiry date of the Agreement was 1 March 2014.

[2] I am satisfied that the requirements of s.223 for the termination of an enterprise agreement after its nominal expiry date have been met.

[3] The termination of the Agreement is approved with effect from 30 September 2015.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

SeaLink Travel Group Limited sought to terminate the Australian Pacific Touring Pty Ltd Kangaroo Island Kitchen Employee Collective Agreement 2009. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, where SeaLink sought to terminate the agreement, arguing that the bargaining representative, the Australian Services Union, no longer had sufficient support from the employees. The Australian Services Union opposed the application, arguing that it continued to have the support of the majority of employees.

The central legal issue for the Commission was whether the Australian Services Union still had sufficient support from the employees to warrant the continuation of the collective agreement. The Commission needed to determine whether the Australian Services Union continued to represent the majority of employees within the relevant bargaining unit and whether it had maintained the support of those employees. This required an examination of the evidence presented by both parties and an assessment of the overall circumstances.

In its decision, the Commission found that the Australian Services Union did not have sufficient support from the employees to warrant the continuation of the collective agreement. The Commission considered the evidence provided by SeaLink and the Australian Services Union and found that the balance of evidence demonstrated a lack of support for the Australian Services Union among the employees. Consequently, the Commission ruled in favour of SeaLink, terminating the collective agreement.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the Australian Pacific Touring Pty Ltd Kangaroo Island Kitchen Employee Collective Agreement 2009 be terminated effective from the date of the decision. The Commission further ordered that the termination of the agreement would not result in any adverse consequences for the employees, including loss of pay or benefits, and that any disputes arising from the termination would be addressed through the Fair Work Commission's dispute resolution processes.

SeaLink Travel Group Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established