DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Armor Safety Pty Ltd
(AG2019/2898)

ARMOR SAFETY PTY LTD & THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS' UNION AGREEMENT 2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 17 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Armor Safety Pty Ltd & The Australian Workers' Union Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Armor Safety Pty Ltd & The Australian Workers’ Union Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Armor Safety Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The employer did not provide at least 21 days between its provision of the last notice of employee representational rights and its request to employees to approve the Agreement. However, in the circumstances and having regard to the decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited t/a RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics and Others, 1 I am satisfied that:

a) this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s.188(2)(a); and

b) the employees to be covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 17 September 2019 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 24 September 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 28 February 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

1 [2019] FWCFB 318.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Armor Safety Pty Ltd sought approval of an agreement between the company and the Australian Workers' Union for its employees. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The primary dispute involved the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement, including its alignment with the relevant industrial instruments and the fair representation of employee interests.

The central legal issues before the FWC were whether the agreement was in compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it appropriately balanced the interests of both employers and employees. This required an examination of the agreement's provisions, the negotiation process, and its adherence to the principles of good faith bargaining and procedural fairness. The FWC also needed to consider the potential impact of the agreement on the employees' rights and protections.

After thorough deliberation, the FWC determined that the agreement was compliant with the Fair Work Act and appropriately balanced the interests of both parties. The FWC found that the agreement was the product of genuine good faith bargaining, and its terms were fair and reasonable. The court emphasised the importance of procedural fairness throughout the negotiation process and highlighted the need for continued compliance with the Act in the future. The FWC approved the Armor Safety Pty Ltd & The Australian Workers' Union Agreement 2019, allowing it to come into effect as a registered agreement.

Armor Safety 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