DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Veolia Water Operations
(AG2021/6466)

VEOLIA MT PIPER POWER STATION WATER TREATMENT PLANT OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Electrical power industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOYCE	SYDNEY, 13 AUGUST 2021

Application for approval of the Veolia Mt Piper Power Station Water Treatment Plant Operations & Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement to be known as the Veolia Mt Piper Power Station Water Treatment Plant Operations & Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2021 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Veolia Water Operations (Employer). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings dated 12 August 2021. Those undertakings are attached at Annexure A to this decision and become terms of the Agreement. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement (as compared to the relevant provisions of the Electrical Power Industry Award 2020), and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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.

[5] I am satisfied the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 20 August 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 13 August 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Veolia Water Operations Pty Ltd sought approval of the Veolia Mt Piper Power Station Water Treatment Plant Operations & Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2021. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement was in compliance with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009, particularly in terms of procedural fairness and the fairness of the terms and conditions.

The court was required to determine whether the agreement was made in accordance with the statutory requirements, including whether it was genuinely agreed to by the parties involved. This involved examining the process through which the agreement was reached and whether there was adequate consultation and representation of the employees. The court also needed to assess whether the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable, considering the economic and social context in which it was made.

In its reasoning, the court found that the agreement was indeed genuinely agreed upon by the parties involved, as evidenced by the thorough consultation process and the representation of employees' interests. The court concluded that the agreement met all the necessary statutory requirements and was fair and reasonable in its terms and conditions. Consequently, the court approved the Veolia Mt Piper Power Station Water Treatment Plant Operations & Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2021. The final orders were that the agreement be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Veolia Water Operations

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established