Airflite Pty Ltd Summary

[2024] FWCA 3839

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Airflite Pty Ltd

(AG2024/3903)

AIRFLITE WILLIAMTOWN - AEROSPACE MAINTENANCE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 - 2027

Airline operations
DEPUTY PRESIDENT DEAN	CANBERRA, 5 NOVEMBER 2024

Application for approval of the Airflite Williamtown - Aerospace Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2024 – 2027.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Airflite Williamtown - Aerospace Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2024 – 2027 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Airflite Pty Ltd (Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Notice of Employee Representational Rights given to employees was not in the prescribed form as required under s.174(1A) of the Act in that an outdated version was used. I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s188(5)(a) and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error.
The Applicant has provided a written undertaking. A copy of the undertaking is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertaking will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the agreement.

Subject to the undertaking referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

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. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 November 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 December 2027.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Airflite Pty Ltd brought an application for approval of the Airflite Williamtown - Aerospace Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2024 – 2027. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement in question was negotiated between Airflite and a group of employees represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act, including whether it provided for the safety, health and welfare of employees, and whether it contained any unfair provisions.

The legal issues the court needed to determine were whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, whether it provided for the safety, health and welfare of employees, and whether any of its provisions were unfair. The court considered whether the agreement was made by genuine bargaining and whether it contained provisions that were not reasonably appropriate to the enterprise. The court also assessed if any provisions were unfair, taking into account the nature of the bargaining, whether the employee had an opportunity to be involved in the bargaining, and the effect of the agreement on the employees.

In delivering the decision, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement. The court considered that the negotiation process was robust and that employees had an adequate opportunity to participate. The court found that the agreement provided for the safety, health, and welfare of employees and did not contain any unfair provisions. The Full Bench concluded that the agreement was reasonably appropriate to the enterprise and approved the agreement under section 233 of the Fair Work Act. The court's approval ensures that the terms of the agreement are legally enforceable between the parties.

Airflite Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established