DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Aldus-Tronics Pty Ltd
(AG2017/5490)

ALDUS-TRONICS PTY LTD COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WORKSHOP AGREEMENT 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 22 MARCH 2018

Application for approval of the Aldus-Tronics Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Aldus-Tronics Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Aldus-Tronics Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings 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.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

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

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 29 March 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, Aldus-Tronics Pty Ltd, sought approval for the Aldus-Tronics Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2017. The application was brought under the Fair Work Act 2009, which provides mechanisms for the approval of certain types of agreements that meet specific criteria. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved as a greenfields agreement, which is a type of enterprise agreement that can be made without the support of a majority of the employees concerned.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement met the necessary requirements under the Fair Work Act, such as whether it contained the mandated minimum terms and conditions, and whether it had been made in good faith and without coercion. The Commission also considered whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees concerned, and whether it provided a safety net for employees who may not be covered by the agreement.

The Commission found that the agreement met the necessary requirements under the Act, and that it had been made in good faith and without coercion. The Commission also found that the agreement provided a safety net for employees who may not be covered by the agreement, and that it was in the best interests of the employees concerned. The Commission approved the agreement, subject to certain modifications that were necessary to ensure that it met the mandated minimum terms and conditions.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Aldus-Tronics Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2017 be approved as a greenfields agreement, subject to the modifications set out in the decision. The modifications related to the provisions concerning shift loadings, overtime, and penalty rates, and were necessary to ensure that the agreement met the mandated minimum terms and conditions. The applicant was directed to give a copy of the approved agreement to the Commission within 14 days of the decision.

Aldus-Tronics 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