SSX Services Pty Limited T/A ARC / The Australian Reinforcing Company

[2021] FWCA 6352

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

SSX Services Pty Limited T/A ARC / The Australian Reinforcing Company
(AG2021/7445)

AUSTRALIAN REINFORCING COMPANY TOWNSVILLE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021 TO 2025

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 20 OCTOBER 2021

Application for approval of the Australian Reinforcing Company Townsville Enterprise Agreement 2021 to 2025

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Australian Reinforcing Company Townsville Enterprise Agreement 2021 to 2025 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the SSX Services Pty Limited T/A ARC/The Australian Reinforcing Company (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement does not contain a model flexibility term compliant with the Act. Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

SSX Services Pty Limited, trading as The Australian Reinforcing Company, brought an application to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Australian Reinforcing Company Townsville Enterprise Agreement 2021 to 2025. The application was made under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking the Commission's endorsement of the agreement as a registered enterprise agreement. The dispute centred on whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements, including whether it contained the prescribed minimum terms and conditions, and whether it was made in good faith and without coercion.

The primary legal issues addressed by the Commission were whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, and whether it met the legal criteria for registration. The Commission examined the negotiation process, the content of the agreement, and whether it contained the required minimum terms and conditions. It also considered whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether there had been any undue influence or coercion in its formation.

In assessing the application, the Commission reviewed the evidence provided by the parties and the provisions of the agreement. It found that the negotiation process was conducted in good faith and without coercion, and that the agreement contained all the required minimum terms and conditions. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement that met all the statutory requirements for registration. Consequently, the Commission approved the application and registered the Australian Reinforcing Company Townsville Enterprise Agreement 2021 to 2025 as a registered enterprise agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established