DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd
(AG2018/7241)

VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD SA & NT REFUSE AGREEMENT 2018-2021

Waste management industry
COMMISSIONER PLATT	ADELAIDE, 9 APRIL 2019

Application for approval of the Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd SA & NT Refuse Agreement 2018-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd SA & NT Refuse Agreement 2018-2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 14 March 2019.

[3] The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 21 March 2019. The undertaking provides a National Employment Standards (NES) precedence clause.

[4] A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representatives and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representatives that responded, supported the undertaking.

[5] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[6] The “Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (TWU)”, 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[7] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[8] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days from the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 30 June 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Federal Court of Australia heard an application from Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd for the approval of the Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd SA & NT Refuse Agreement 2018-2021. The application was brought under section 178 of the Fair Work Act 2009, which allows for the approval of enterprise agreements that provide for terms and conditions of employment that are different from those provided for by a relevant award. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for approval under the Act, particularly whether it contained certain ‘protected’ terms that could not be worse off than those provided by the relevant awards.

The court was required to determine whether the agreement included any terms that were protected under the Act and, if so, whether those terms were worse off than the corresponding terms in the relevant awards. The court also needed to consider whether the agreement was made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act, including whether there was genuine bargaining between the parties and whether the employees had been adequately informed and consulted about the agreement.

The court found that the agreement did not include any protected terms that were worse off than the terms in the relevant awards. The court also found that the agreement was made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act, including that there was genuine bargaining between the parties and that the employees had been adequately informed and consulted about the agreement. The court approved the agreement, and it is now in force for the period 2018-2021.

The final orders of the court were that the Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd SA & NT Refuse Agreement 2018-2021 be approved under section 178 of the Fair Work Act 2009, and that the agreement be registered with the Fair Work Commission. The orders also included provisions for the agreement to be brought to the attention of the employees and for the agreement to be published on the Fair Work Commission’s website.

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