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

[2014] FWCA 486

The attached document replaces the document previously issued with the above code on 20 January 2014.

The replacement corrects a typographical error at paragraph [7] of the document originally issued on 20 January 2014.

Please discard the original and replace it with the attached.

Patti Ladd

Associate to COMMISSIONER BLAIR

Dated 23 January 2014

[2014] FWCA 486

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

“Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU)
(AG2014/48)

IONTEK FABRICATION PTY LTD AND AMWU METAL ENGINEERING ON-SITE CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT 2011 - 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER BLAIR	MELBOURNE, 20 JANUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Iontek Fabrication Pty Ltd and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2011 - 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as Iontek Fabrication Pty Ltd and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2011 - 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU). The agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] I have considered the matters contained in the employer declaration and the declaration made on behalf of the employee organisation which will be covered by the Agreement.

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

[4] In accordance with s.187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that the AMWU, the relevant employee organisation which will be covered by the Agreement, is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of the employees who will be covered by the Agreement, in relation to work to be performed under the Agreement; and it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement in order to provide certainty as to employment terms and conditions, in the terms agreed between the parties.

[5] The AMWU, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.185 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] Pursuant to s.190 of the Act, the Applicant has given the undertaking annexed to this decision. In accordance with ss. 191(1) and 201(3) of the Act I note that the undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 27 January 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2014.

ANNEXURE A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for the approval of the Iontek Fabrication Pty Ltd and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2011-2014. The dispute centred on whether the agreement provided appropriate protections for employees and met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The FWC had to determine whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and if it met the necessary standards of the Act.

The primary legal issues before the FWC were whether the agreement contained the necessary protections for employees, including minimum wages, penalty rates, and leave provisions, and if the agreement was genuinely negotiated and not the result of coercion. The FWC also had to consider whether the agreement provided for the proper enforcement of its terms and if it met the requirements of the Act in terms of its content and process of negotiation.

The FWC found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and not the result of coercion. The agreement provided for appropriate protections for employees, including minimum wages, penalty rates, and leave provisions. The FWC also found that the agreement contained provisions for the proper enforcement of its terms. The FWC concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and approved it under section 234 of the Act.

The FWC approved the Iontek Fabrication Pty Ltd and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2011-2014. The FWC found that the agreement met the necessary standards of the Act and provided appropriate protections for employees. The FWC also found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and not the result of coercion. The approval of the agreement ensures that employees in the metal engineering industry on construction sites are provided with appropriate protections and that employers and employees can rely on the terms of the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established