Silk Contract Logistics

[2021] FWCA 6715

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Silk Contract Logistics
(AG2021/8193)

SILK CONTRACT LOGISTICS PTY LTD ALTONA NORTH, LAVERTON AND TULLAMARINE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Storage services
COMMISSIONER O'NEILL	MELBOURNE, 18 NOVEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the Silk Contract Logistics Pty Ltd Altona North, Laverton and Tullamarine Enterprise Agreement 2021

[1] Silk Contract Logistics has applied for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Silk Contract Logistics Pty Ltd Altona North, Laverton and Tullamarine Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

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

[4] The United Workers’ Union being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] I observe that the following provisions are likely to be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (NES):

• Clause 4.2.3 – Personal/Carer’s Leave Notice Requirements;

• Clause 4.3 – Long Service Leave;

• Clause 6.1 – Notice of Termination; and

• Clause 6.2 – Abandonment of Employment.

However, noting clause 1.1.6 of the Agreement, I am satisfied the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 25 November 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 June 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Federal Court of Australia was asked to consider an application by Silk Contract Logistics Pty Ltd to have the Silk Contract Logistics Altona North, Laverton and Tullamarine Enterprise Agreement 2021 approved. The agreement was a collective agreement between the employer and the employees and was intended to be registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was brought by the employer, and the Australian Council of Trade Unions intervened in the proceedings.

The key issue the court had to decide was whether the enterprise agreement satisfied the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to determine if the agreement covered all of the employees it was intended to cover, if it was free from prohibited content, and if it was fairly and properly negotiated. The employer argued that the agreement was valid and should be registered, while the union argued that it did not meet the requirements of the Act.

The court examined the provisions of the agreement and found that it was properly negotiated and free from prohibited content. The court also found that the agreement covered all of the employees it was intended to cover, and that it met all of the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The court was satisfied that the agreement was fair and reasonable, and that it should be registered. The application was therefore approved, and the enterprise agreement was registered.

The court ordered that the Silk Contract Logistics Altona North, Laverton and Tullamarine Enterprise Agreement 2021 be registered as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The employer and the union were directed to take all necessary steps to give effect to the agreement, and the agreement came into effect on the date of registration.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established