DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust
(AG2020/2664)

THE SOUTHERN METROPOLITAN CEMETERIES TRUST INDOOR ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020-2024

Clerical industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 23 SEPTEMBER 2020

Application for approval of The Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust Indoor Enterprise Agreement 2020-2024.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as The Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust Indoor Enterprise Agreement 2020-2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 September 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 22 September 2024.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, The Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, sought approval of an enterprise agreement from the Fair Work Commission. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the proposed agreement. The Fair Work Commission was the tribunal tasked with deciding whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly whether it contained the minimum entitlements required by law, whether it was made in good faith, and if it was appropriately certified by the relevant independent body. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it covered.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement did not meet the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. The Commission highlighted that the agreement did not include a term that provided for the payment of wages on a weekly basis, which is a minimum entitlement under the Act. Furthermore, the Commission was not satisfied that the agreement was made in good faith and that it was in the best interests of the employees. Consequently, the Commission refused to approve the agreement.

As a result of the Commission's decision, the application for approval of the proposed enterprise agreement was dismissed. The employees and the employer will continue to be bound by the terms of the existing enterprise agreement until a new agreement is successfully certified and approved by the Fair Work Commission.

Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established