DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Thiess Pty Ltd
(AG2016/6805)

THIESS PTY LTD JELLINBAH COAL MINE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Coal industry
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS	MELBOURNE, 23 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Thiess Pty Ltd Jellinbah Coal Mine Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Thiess Pty Ltd Jellinbah Coal Mine Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings (the Undertakings). A copy of the Undertakings is attached in Annexure A to this decision. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the Undertakings is not likely to:

(a) cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement; or

(b) result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

[4] Pursuant to subsection 190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings.

[5] Subject to the Undertakings, 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.

[6] The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union 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.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 December 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved Thiess Pty Ltd and a number of its employees represented by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union. The dispute centred on the application for the approval of the Thiess Pty Ltd Jellinbah Coal Mine Enterprise Agreement 2016. The applicants sought the agreement to be made binding on the relevant employees. The Commission had to determine whether the agreement met the necessary legal criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement had been made freely and voluntarily by the employees without any duress or coercion, and whether it contained the minimum terms and conditions as required by the Act. The Commission also needed to assess whether the agreement complied with the "better off overall test" and if it included all the mandatory provisions as stipulated by the Act.

In reaching its decision, the Commission examined the process through which the agreement was formed, including the consultation and negotiation processes between the employer and the employees' representatives. The Commission found that the agreement was negotiated in good faith and that the employees had genuinely agreed to the terms without any undue pressure. It was also determined that the agreement met the better off overall test, providing employees with at least the minimum entitlements set by the relevant award or registered agreement. The Commission concluded that all mandatory provisions were included in the agreement, and thus, it complied with the statutory requirements.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Thiess Pty Ltd Jellinbah Coal Mine Enterprise Agreement 2016, making it a legally binding enterprise agreement between Thiess Pty Ltd and the relevant employees.

Thiess 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