DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

A Plus Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd T/A A+ Steel Fabrication Pty Ltd
(AG2014/10148)

A PLUS STEEL FABRICATIONS PTY LTD AND AMWU GEELONG AREA AGREEMENT 2014 - 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 12 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the A Plus Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd and AMWU Geelong Area Agreement 2014 - 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the A Plus Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd and AMWU Geelong Area Agreement 2014 - 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by A Plus Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd T/A A+ Steel Fabrication Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 19 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

A Plus Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd, trading as A+ Steel Fabrications, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of an enterprise agreement. The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) was the party that negotiated the agreement on behalf of the employees. The nature of the dispute was the approval of the A Plus Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd and AMWU Geelong Area Agreement 2014 - 2017, focusing on whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues revolved around whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act and whether it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the agreement had been fairly and genuinely negotiated and if it included all the mandatory minimum terms stipulated by the Act.

The Fair Work Commission, after reviewing the submissions and evidence, found that the agreement was fairly and genuinely negotiated and included all the mandatory minimum terms. The commission was satisfied with the procedural fairness and the content of the agreement. Consequently, the application for approval was successful. The court ordered the approval of the A Plus Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd and AMWU Geelong Area Agreement 2014 - 2017.

A Plus Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd T/A A+ Steel Fabrication 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