DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. T/A Barwon Coast
(AG2017/2225)

BARWON COAST COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT INC. ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Hospitality industry
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 25 JULY 2017

Application for approval of the Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. T/A Barwon Coast. 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] The Australian Workers’ 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 1 August 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. trading as Barwon Coast applied for approval of their 2016 Enterprise Agreement. The application was contested by the Public Sector Union of Australia, Victoria Branch, which represented certain employees of the Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. The dispute centred on whether the terms and conditions set out in the proposed enterprise agreement were fair and reasonable in all respects. The Commission had to determine if the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions that were not less favourable than those provided for by the relevant award or the safety net, and if it complied with the good faith bargaining requirements. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement included provisions that were necessary to facilitate the efficient operation of the employer's business or to accommodate changes in the employer's business.

In delivering its decision, the Commission examined the provisions of the agreement and the evidence presented by both parties. The Commission found that the agreement provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions that were not less favourable than those provided by the relevant award or safety net. The Commission also determined that the agreement was the product of genuine and good faith bargaining. Furthermore, the Commission concluded that the agreement contained provisions that were necessary to facilitate the efficient operation of the employer's business and to accommodate changes in the employer's business. Consequently, the Commission approved the Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2016.

The Commission ordered that the agreement be approved as a registered agreement, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement was to be registered by the parties with the Commission within 28 days of the decision. The Commission also ordered that the agreement be published on the Fair Work Commission's website and that a copy of the decision be provided to both parties.

Barwon Coast Committee of Management Inc. T/A Barwon Coast

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established