DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd T/A Veolia Environmental Services
(AG2014/10076)

VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AND THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION PORTLAND ALUMINIUM MANUFACTURING SERVICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 4 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Veolia Environmental Services and The Australian Workers’ Union Portland Aluminium Manufacturing Services Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Veolia Environmental Services and The Australian Workers’ Union Portland Aluminium Manufacturing Services Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] An undertaking has been given in relation to clauses 21.6 and 27 of the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(2) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

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

[4] The Australian Workers’ 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. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 11 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the Fair Work Commission involved Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd, trading as Veolia Environmental Services, and The Australian Workers’ Union, representing employees of Portland Aluminium Manufacturing Services. The matter pertained to an application for the approval of the Veolia Environmental Services and The Australian Workers’ Union Portland Aluminium Manufacturing Services Enterprise Agreement 2014. The primary dispute centred around whether the enterprise agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in terms of its coverage, content, and procedural fairness. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval and whether it could be certified as a single, integrated enterprise agreement.

The legal issues that the Commission needed to address included whether the agreement appropriately defined the workforce covered, whether it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions as prescribed by the Act, and whether the process by which the agreement was negotiated and executed was fair and appropriate. Furthermore, the Commission had to examine if the agreement contained any terms that were contrary to public policy or not genuinely intended for the benefit of the employees.

In delivering its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the enterprise agreement was consistent with the statutory requirements. The Commission confirmed that the agreement appropriately defined the employee workforce, contained the minimum terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act 2009, and was the product of a fair negotiation process. The Commission also concluded that the agreement did not contain any terms contrary to public policy or otherwise objectionable. Accordingly, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement and certified it as a single, integrated agreement. This certification ensures that the terms of the agreement are legally binding and enforceable between the employer and the employees covered by the agreement.

Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd T/A Veolia Environmental Services

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established