DECISION

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

AutoNexus Pty Limited
(AG2021/4806)

AUTONEXUS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT - MULGRAVE WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS 2021

Vehicle industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 17 MAY 2021

Application for approval of the AutoNexus Enterprise Agreement - Mulgrave Warehouse Operations 2021.

[1] AutoNexus Pty Limited (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AutoNexus Enterprise Agreement - Mulgrave Warehouse Operations 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] Employees were not provided with 7 clear days notice of the place and method of the vote as required by section 180(3) of the Act. The Employer provided submissions as to this error on 12 May 2021. I am satisfied having regard to those submissions and the Full Bench decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Ltd T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others 1 (Huntsman)that this constitutes a minor technical or procedural error for the purposes s 188(2)(a) of Act. Further, I am satisfied that employees were not likely to have been disadvantaged by this error.

[3] Accordingly, notwithstanding the matters identified in paragraph [2] above, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2).

[4] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application, and the accompanying statutory declaration and the additional information provided by the Employer, 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.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 17 May 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 24 May 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 17 May 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of AutoNexus Pty Limited, the applicant, the Fair Work Commission was tasked with approving an enterprise agreement between the applicant and the warehouse employees at the Mulgrave site. The nature of the dispute centred around whether the agreement met the necessary requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission, led by Commissioner Smith, was required to determine whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive provisions of the Act.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement was properly made, whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, and whether the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining requirement. The applicant argued that the agreement was the result of genuine and meaningful negotiations, while the employees contended that the agreement failed to adequately protect their interests. The Commission needed to weigh these contentions against the statutory framework.

In delivering the decision, the Commission found that the agreement was made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act. The Commission was satisfied that there had been genuine and meaningful negotiations and that the agreement reflected the outcomes of those negotiations. The Commission also found that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and that it complied with the good faith bargaining requirement. The Commission approved the agreement, noting that it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the warehouse employees.

The Commission made an order approving the AutoNexus Enterprise Agreement - Mulgrave Warehouse Operations 2021, effective from 1 July 2021. The order also included provisions for the agreement to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and for the agreement to be available for inspection by employees and other interested parties.

AutoNexus Pty Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established