SUEZ Recycling & Recovery (No.1) Pty Ltd

[2021] FWCA 7048

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

SUEZ Recycling & Recovery (No.1) Pty Ltd
(AG2021/8159)

SUEZ NO.1 ENGINEERING TRADES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Waste management industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT CROSS	SYDNEY, 9 DECEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the SUEZ No.1 Engineering Trades Enterprise Agreement 2021

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the SUEZ No.1 Engineering Trades Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by SUEZ Recycling & Recovery (No.1) Pty Ltd. The Agreement 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] 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 Transport Workers’ Union of Australia 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days from the date of approval. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 October 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Suez Recycling & Recovery (No.1) Pty Ltd, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission was called upon to consider the application for the approval of the SUEZ No.1 Engineering Trades Enterprise Agreement 2021. The dispute arose between the applicant, SUEZ Recycling & Recovery (No.1) Pty Ltd, and the relevant trade unions, with the primary issue being whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues the court had to resolve included whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms specified by the Act, whether it was made in good faith, and whether it provided for a fair and efficient dispute resolution process. Additionally, the court needed to ensure that the agreement did not have the effect of undermining the operation of the national workplace relations system.

The Full Bench determined that the agreement contained all the necessary mandatory terms and was made in good faith. It also found that the dispute resolution provisions were fair and efficient, and that the agreement did not undermine the national workplace relations system. The court approved the agreement on the basis that it complied with the statutory requirements and was in the best interests of the employees covered by the agreement. As a result, the application for approval was granted, and the SUEZ No.1 Engineering Trades Enterprise Agreement 2021 was duly approved.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established