Backwell IXL Pty Ltd; IXL Metal Castings Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 518

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Backwell IXL Pty Ltd; IXL Metal Castings Pty Ltd
(AG2012/13217)

BACKWELL IXL PTY LTD SINGLE ENTERPRISE UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2012

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 22 JANUARY 2013

Application for approval of the Backwell IXL Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Union Collective Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Backwell IXL Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Union Collective Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Backwell IXL Pty Ltd. The agreement is a multi-enterprise agreement and the employer parties are Backwell IXL Pty Ltd and IXL Metal Castings Pty Ltd.

[2] The application was accompanied by a Form F17, declaration of Employer in Support of Application, made on behalf of Backwell IXL Pty Ltd.

[3] An examination of the details of the F17 and of the Agreement disclosed that the agreement was in fact a multi-enterprise agreement.

[4] I required the applicants to file a new F16 and that each of the two employers, Backwell IXL Pty Ltd and IXL Metal Castings Pty Ltd, file a Form F17.

[5] The applicants were required to file a new version of the agreement, correcting the very large number of typographical/administrative errors in the agreement. Pursuant to s.586 of the Act, I accept the amended version of the Agreement as filed by the applicants’ representative on 16 January 2013 as the version of the agreement which I now approve.

[6] An undertaking has been given by both applicant companies in relation to clause 5.5.8 of the Agreement and these undertakings have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(2) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[7] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[8] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[9] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 29 January 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 28 February 2016.

COMMISSIONER

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APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, Backwell IXL Pty Ltd and IXL Metal Castings Pty Ltd, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of a collective agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The nature of the dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the legal requirements for certification and if it complied with the provisions of the Act. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, the relevant body for such industrial disputes.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the proposed agreement was genuinely a single enterprise agreement, whether it complied with the procedural requirements for approval, and if the agreement contained any provisions that were contrary to public policy or contravened the Act. Additionally, the court needed to consider if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees covered by it.

The Fair Work Commission examined the procedural fairness of the agreement, the nature of the bargaining process, and whether the agreement satisfied the necessary criteria under the Fair Work Act. The court determined that the agreement was genuinely a single enterprise agreement and had been appropriately negotiated. It also found that the agreement did not contravene any statutory provisions or public policy. The Commission approved the agreement, finding that it was in the best interests of the employees, as it provided them with fair and reasonable terms of employment.

Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Backwell IXL Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Union Collective Agreement 2012. The decision was based on the finding that the agreement was genuinely a single enterprise agreement, had been appropriately negotiated, and did not contravene any statutory provisions or public policy. The Commission determined that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, providing them with fair and reasonable terms of employment.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established