SSL Security Services Pty Ltd t/as Spotless

[2014] FWCA 2613

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Kelpage Holdings Pty Ltd T/A Safeguard Hire
(AG2014/5691)

SAFEGUARD HIRE CERTIFIED AGREEMENT FOR YALLOURN POWER STATION AND OPENCUT MINE VICTORIA, 2012

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 17 APRIL 2014

Application for approval of the Safeguard Hire Certified Agreement for Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine Victoria, 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Safeguard Hire Certified Agreement for Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine Victoria, 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Kelpage Holdings Pty Ltd t/a Safeguard Hire. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

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

[3] The “Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union” (CFMEU), being the bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act 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 24 April 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this case were SSL Security Services Pty Ltd, trading as Spotless, and the Fair Work Ombudsman, who brought the application before the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred on the approval of the Safeguard Hire Certified Agreement for Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine in Victoria for the year 2012. The Fair Work Ombudsman sought the approval of the agreement on behalf of employees who were employed by Spotless and working at the mine and power station. The legal issues before the court involved the validity and enforceability of the certified agreement in terms of its compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically sections 172 and 176.

The court had to determine whether the agreement met the criteria for certification, such as being made in good faith and promoting workplace harmony. The primary focus was on whether the agreement adequately covered all the matters required by the Act, including the provision of fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. Furthermore, the court examined whether the agreement was genuinely made by the parties and whether it was appropriately certified by the relevant authority.

In its reasoning, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement did not meet the necessary requirements for certification under the Fair Work Act. The court concluded that the agreement was not made in good faith and did not genuinely represent the interests of the employees. The court also found that the agreement did not cover all the required matters and was therefore invalid. Consequently, the application for approval of the Safeguard Hire Certified Agreement for Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine Victoria, 2012, was dismissed. The court ordered that the agreement was not to be certified and that the Fair Work Ombudsman was entitled to costs associated with the application.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established