DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Toll Transport Pty Ltd
(AG2019/3429)

TOLL SHIPPING STEVEDORING SUPERVISORS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Stevedoring industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 21 OCTOBER 2019

Application for approval of the Toll Shipping Stevedoring Supervisors Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Toll Shipping Stevedoring Supervisors Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Toll Transport 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.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Australian Maritime Officers’ 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 28 October 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 22 October 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Toll Transport Pty Ltd, the Fair Work Commission was asked to approve the Toll Shipping Stevedoring Supervisors Enterprise Agreement 2018. The dispute centred around whether the agreement met the necessary legal criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant, Toll Transport, sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered enterprise agreement, which would confer certain employment terms and conditions on its stevedoring supervisors.

The court was required to determine if the agreement was genuinely a product of bargaining between the employer and the employees' representatives and whether it contained the necessary minimum terms as stipulated by the Fair Work Act. Key issues included whether the agreement was made without any undue influence or coercion and whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements for the negotiation and registration of enterprise agreements.

After examining the evidence and submissions, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely bargained between the parties. The Commission was satisfied that the process adhered to the legal requirements and that the agreement contained all the necessary minimum terms. The Commission concluded that the agreement was fair and reasonable, taking into account the specific circumstances of the stevedoring industry and the roles of the supervisors. The Commission approved the agreement, allowing it to be registered and enforceable under the Fair Work Act.

In approving the agreement, the Fair Work Commission ordered that the Toll Shipping Stevedoring Supervisors Enterprise Agreement 2018 be registered and that it would come into effect from the date of the Commission's decision. This registration would ensure that the terms and conditions set out in the agreement would apply to the stevedoring supervisors employed by Toll Transport.

Toll Transport 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