Transpacific Industries Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 5767

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Transpacific Industries Pty Ltd
(AG2013/7631)

NQ RESOURCE RECOVERY TOWNSVILLE PLANT & VEHICLE WORKSHOPS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT DRAKE	SYDNEY, 15 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the NQ Resource Recovery Townsville Plant & Vehicle Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the NQ Resource Recovery Townsville Plant & Vehicle Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Transpacific Industries Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to the application for approval have been met.

[4] The Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing, and Kindred Industries Union, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers that organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s54 of the Act, will operate from 22 August 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 01 July 2016.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Transpacific Industries Pty Ltd applied for approval of the NQ Resource Recovery Townsville Plant & Vehicle Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2013. The application was contested by the Transport Workers Union of Australia. The dispute centred on whether the enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, including the provision of procedural fairness and the coverage of employees. The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement satisfied the "better off overall test" and if procedural fairness had been observed in its negotiation and presentation.

The Fair Work Commission considered whether the agreement provided employees with terms and conditions that were no worse than those under the applicable awards or safety nets. Additionally, it examined if the negotiation process afforded employees an opportunity to be heard and whether the agreement was presented to them in a manner that allowed them to understand its implications. The Commission concluded that the agreement met the "better off overall test" and that procedural fairness had been observed. It found that the negotiation process was fair and that the presentation of the agreement to employees was adequate.

Consequently, the Commission approved the NQ Resource Recovery Townsville Plant & Vehicle Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2013. The decision was based on the finding that the agreement met the statutory requirements and that procedural fairness was upheld throughout the process. The Transport Workers Union of Australia's contest was thus dismissed.

Transpacific Industries Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established