AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd T/A AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd - [2023] FWCA 360

[2023] FWCA 360

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd T/A AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd

(AG2022/5540)

WILSON FABRICS PTY LTD WAREHOUSE AND SAMPLES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2022

Clothing industry
COMMISSIONER MIRABELLA	MELBOURNE, 6 FEBRUARY 2023

Application for approval of the Wilson Fabrics Pty Ltd Warehouse and Samples Enterprise Agreement 2022.

AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Wilson Fabrics Pty Ltd Warehouse and Samples Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187 and 188, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

I observe that certain provisions of the Agreement are likely to be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (NES). However, noting clause 6.5 of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy 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) and based on the declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement was approved on 6 February 2023 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 13 February 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 April 2026.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd T/A AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd, sought approval for the Wilson Fabrics Pty Ltd Warehouse and Samples Enterprise Agreement 2022. The dispute involved the terms of the enterprise agreement, which was to govern the employment conditions of warehouse and samples employees of Wilson Fabrics Pty Ltd. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the enterprise agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly in relation to the procedural fairness in the bargaining process and whether it provided minimum entitlements as required by law. Additionally, the Commission considered whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it covered.

The Fair Work Commission examined the procedural fairness of the bargaining process and found that the applicant had adequately consulted with the employees and their representatives during the negotiation of the agreement. The Commission also assessed the agreement against the minimum entitlements set out in the Fair Work Act and found that it met all the necessary requirements. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, taking into account the specific circumstances of the workplace and the bargaining process. Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Wilson Fabrics Pty Ltd Warehouse and Samples Enterprise Agreement 2022.

AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd T/A AWM - Group Management Services Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established