Boeing Aerostructures Australia Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 4461

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Boeing Aerostructures Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1226)

BOEING AEROSTRUCTURES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD (PORT MELBOURNE) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 7 JULY 2014

Application for approval of the Boeing Aerostructures Australia Pty Ltd (Port Melbourne) Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Boeing Aerostructures Australia Pty Ltd (Port Melbourne) Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Boeing Aerostructures Australia 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] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia being a bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have 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 was approved on 7 July 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 14 July 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 February 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Boeing Aerostructures Australia Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Boeing Aerostructures Australia Pty Ltd (Port Melbourne) Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was made by the company and the relevant union, which had negotiated the agreement. The nature of the dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for the workers covered by the agreement.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment. The Commission considered whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements, such as whether it was negotiated in good faith and whether the parties had taken all practicable steps to reach an agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and met the requirements for approval. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment and that the parties had negotiated in good faith. The Commission also found that the agreement contained provisions that went beyond the minimum terms and conditions, such as provisions for additional leave and redundancy payments. The Commission approved the agreement and made it a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

No further orders were made by the Commission. The agreement became a legally binding contract between the company and the union, and it regulated the terms and conditions of employment for the workers covered by the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established