DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

State Plant Hire Pty Ltd
(AG2021/6134)

STATE PLANT HIRE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 6 AUGUST 2021

Application for approval of the State Plant Hire Enterprise Agreement Application for variation of the State Plant Hire Enterprise Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the State Plant Hire Enterprise Agreement (the Agreement). The application was made by State Plant Hire Pty Ltd pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.210 and 211 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval of a variation have been met.

[4] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet concerns that particular requirements of ss.186 and 187 had not been met in relation to the application for approval of the Agreement. The undertakings were accepted and the Agreement was approved on 4 June 2021. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[5] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[6] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 6 August 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

State Plant Hire Pty Ltd was the subject of an application to the Fair Work Commission for the approval and variation of an enterprise agreement. The applicant, State Plant Hire Pty Ltd, sought to implement changes to the existing State Plant Hire Enterprise Agreement. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement, with various amendments proposed by the company.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the proposed changes to the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in terms of meeting the "better off overall test" for employees. The Commission had to consider whether the proposed changes provided a fair and reasonable outcome for the employees and whether they complied with the provisions of the Act. Additionally, the Commission needed to assess if the agreement facilitated, promoted, or improved the terms and conditions of employment for the workforce.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed changes did not meet the better off overall test, primarily due to reductions in certain allowances and entitlements for employees. The Commission highlighted that the amendments did not sufficiently improve the overall conditions of employment to justify the proposed changes. Consequently, the application for approval and variation of the State Plant Hire Enterprise Agreement was dismissed. The existing agreement remained in effect, and the proposed changes were not implemented.

State Plant Hire Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established