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

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU)-Victorian Branch applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Metals Labour Hire Greenfields Agreement 2013-2016 with Protech Personnel (Vic) Pty Ltd. The union sought to have the agreement approved to facilitate the employment of workers under the agreement. The legal issues before the Commission centred on whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and if the union had correctly exercised its functions in the negotiation of the agreement. The Commission needed to determine whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining provisions of the Act.

The Commission found that the AMWU had not acted in good faith when negotiating the agreement. The union had failed to provide Protech with information necessary to make a full response to the union's proposals, and there had been no meaningful negotiation process. The Commission also found that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act because it did not provide for a mechanism for resolving disputes between the parties. The Commission did not approve the agreement, finding that it did not meet the requirements of the Act and was not in the best interests of the employees.

The Commission made an order that the agreement be not approved. The union was also ordered to pay Protech's costs of the application. The decision highlights the importance of good faith bargaining and the need for unions to provide employers with all relevant information when negotiating enterprise agreements.