DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd
(AG2020/1625)

VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, INTEGRATED SERVICES [WA] ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020 - 2023

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 2 JULY 2020

Application for approval of the Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd, Integrated Services [WA] Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2023.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd, Integrated Services [WA] Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) 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 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in ss.186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[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 Agreement is approved and in accordance with s.54, will operate from Thursday 9 July 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd, Integrated Services [WA] Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2023. The application was brought before Deputy President D'Costa. The dispute centred around the proposed enterprise agreement which was to cover the employees of Veolia Environmental Services across Western Australia, including the terms and conditions of employment, pay rates, and other employment-related matters.

The central legal issues that the court needed to address were whether the proposed agreement complied with the relevant statutory provisions and whether it met the procedural requirements for approval. This involved scrutinising the agreement to ensure it contained all the mandated minimum terms, and that it had been fairly and properly negotiated between the employer and the employee representatives.

The Deputy President found that the proposed enterprise agreement was compliant with the Fair Work Act 2009 and met the necessary procedural requirements for approval. The Deputy President noted that the agreement contained all the mandated minimum terms, and that the process followed in negotiating the agreement was fair and appropriate. The Deputy President concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and approved the application. Consequently, the Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd, Integrated Services [WA] Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2023 was approved by the Fair Work Commission.

Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) 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