DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd
(AG2017/4337)

BARTTER ENTERPRISES PTY LTD RIVERINA NSW (MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017 - 2021

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 17 JANUARY 2018

Application for approval of the Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd Riverina NSW (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2017-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd Riverina NSW (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2017 – 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 24 January 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 5 September 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd, an employer in the agricultural sector, sought approval of an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was for the Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd Riverina NSW (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2017-2021, which was to govern the employment conditions of maintenance employees. The application was lodged with the Fair Work Commission, which has the authority to approve enterprise agreements under the Act.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act and was therefore eligible for approval. This involved assessing whether the agreement was genuinely an enterprise agreement, had been made without coercion, and satisfied the 'better off overall test', among other things. The Commission also needed to determine whether the agreement's terms were fair and reasonable in all aspects.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was genuinely an enterprise agreement, was not made under duress, and met the better off overall test. The Commission considered the nature of the industry, the bargaining positions of the parties, and the terms of the agreement in reaching its decision. The Commission concluded that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by it. As such, the application for approval was successful.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd Riverina NSW (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2017-2021, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement is now a legally binding contract between the employer and the employees it covers, and it will govern their employment conditions until it expires or is replaced by a new agreement.

Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established