Alstom Limited Summary

[2014] FWCA 4977

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Alstom Limited
(AG2014/1636)

ALSTOM LIMITED LATROBE VALLEY POWER STATION MECHANICAL (AMWU) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 24 JULY 2014

Application for approval of the Alstom Limited Latrobe Valley Power Station Mechanical (AMWU) Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Alstom Limited Latrobe Valley Power Station Mechanical (AMWU) 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 Alstom Limited. The agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] An undertaking has been given in relation to clauses 11.10 and 44 of the Agreement and these undertakings have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and are appended at Appendix A.

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

[4] I am satisfied that the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), the employee organisation to be covered by the agreement, is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

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

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Alstom Limited sought approval for a proposed enterprise agreement with the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) for the Latrobe Valley Power Station. The dispute was heard by the Fair Work Commission. The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in relation to the procedural fairness afforded to non-unionised employees.

The Commission considered whether the agreement provided adequate protections and benefits to non-unionised employees, given that the agreement primarily focused on unionised employees. The Commission examined the process followed in negotiating the agreement and whether it involved genuine consultation with all affected employees. The Commission also reviewed the content of the agreement to ensure it met the standards of procedural fairness and did not unfairly disadvantage non-unionised employees.

After thorough examination, the Commission found that the agreement substantially complied with the requirements of the Act. The Commission was satisfied that the negotiation process was fair and that the agreement provided adequate protections for non-unionised employees. The Commission noted that while the agreement primarily benefited unionised employees, it did not unfairly disadvantage non-unionised employees and provided a reasonable framework for their employment conditions. Consequently, the Commission approved the proposed enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission granted approval for the Alstom Limited Latrobe Valley Power Station Mechanical (AMWU) Enterprise Agreement 2014, subject to the conditions set out in the decision.

Alstom Limited

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established