The Travel Corporation Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 8361

[2013] FWCA 8361

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

The Travel Corporation Pty Ltd
(AG2013/10942)

THE TRAVEL CORPORATION NORTHERN TERRITORY FOREIGN LANGUAGE GUIDES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Tourism industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAMS	SYDNEY, 28 OCTOBER 2013

Application for approval of The Travel Corporation Northern Territory Foreign Languages Guides Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] This is an application, pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the ‘Act’), filed by The Travel Corporation Pty Ltd (the ‘applicant’) which seeks the approval of the Fair Work Commission (the ‘Commission’) of a single enterprise agreement to be known as The Travel Corporation Northern Territory Foreign Languages Guides Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the ‘Agreement’). The Agreement was negotiated with an employee bargaining representative Mr H Yokoi. The Agreement is to cover 15 employees who are engaged as foreign language (predominately Japanese) tour guides in the Northern Territory. For the purposes of s 186(3) of the Act, I am satisfied that the group of employees to be covered by this Agreement has been fairly chosen.

[2] The employees were last notified of their representational rights on 20 September 2013, and voting for the Agreement’s approval took place on 29 September 2013. The time limits under s 181(2) of the Act are thereby satisfied. In an electronic ballot, 8 of the 9 employees who voted, agreed to approve the Agreement. The application for approval of the Agreement was lodged on 16 October 2013, thereby satisfying s 185(3) of the Act.

[3] In the Employer’s Declaration in support of the application (Form F17) Ms L Cooney, Human Resources Director identified the Passenger Vehicle Transportation Award 2010 [MA000063] as the relevant reference instrument for the purposes of the Better Off Overall Test (the ‘BOOT’). Ms Cooney said the Agreement does provide for some less beneficial terms and conditions, including breaks between shifts set at 8 hours rather than 10 hours. However, the Agreement provides for number of terms and conditions that are more beneficial than those in the reference instrument, including higher salary rates, a 7.6 hour payment to employees who are not rostered on a public holiday, an increase in meal allowance, the introduction of entitlements such as telephone allowances and remote housing allowances and full or partial reimbursement to employees participating in external training courses. I am satisfied that the Agreement passes the BOOT. The Agreement provides for the mandatory flexibility and consultation terms at clauses clause 10 and clause 11 respectively, and a disputes resolution procedure clause 12 provides for conciliation and consent arbitration by the Commission.

[4] At a hearing of the application on 24 October 2013, Ms Cooney from The Travel Corporation Pty Ltd, appeared with Ms M Stanko of Marg Stanko Industrial Relations Consultant Pty Ltd. Ms Stanko outlined the main features of the Agreement and submitted that all of the legislative requirements for approval of the Agreement have been satisfied and the Agreement should be approved by the Commission. Ms Stanko explained that the business operates in the tourism industry and manages 16 different tourism brands. As the majority of employees predominantly speak Japanese, Ms Stanko confirmed that active steps were taken to ensure that employees were well informed and understood the terms of the Agreement. She said that most of the employees’ written English skills were superior to their oral English skills.

[5] Having heard the applicant’s submissions and upon reviewing the terms of the preapproval process documentation and the Agreement itself, I am satisfied that all of the requirements of the Act, in particular ss 180, 186, 187 and 188, in so far as relevant to this application, have been met. Accordingly, I approve a single enterprise agreement known as The Travel Corporation Northern Territory Foreign Languages Guides Enterprise Agreement 2013. Pursuant to s 54 of the Act, the Agreement shall operate from 31 October 2013 and have a nominal expiry date of 30 June 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

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