DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bunnings Group Limited T/A Bunnings
(AG2018/6052)

BUNNINGS VICTORIAN DISTRIBUTION CENTRE - NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018-2021

Storage services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 18 JANUARY 2019

Application for approval of the Bunnings Victorian Distribution Centre - National Union of Workers Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Bunnings Victorian Distribution Centre - National Union of Workers Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Bunnings Group Limited T/A Bunnings. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer 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 National Union of Workers 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 25 January 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of an enterprise agreement. The National Union of Workers, as a party to the agreement, supported the application. The dispute centred around whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission, presided over by Deputy President R L F Jones, was tasked with determining this matter.

The legal issues before the Commission involved whether the enterprise agreement met the procedural and substantive requirements of the Fair Work Act. Procedurally, the Commission needed to assess whether the agreement was made in accordance with the processes set out in the Act, including the appropriate bargaining period and the manner in which the agreement was finalised. Substantively, the Commission had to ensure that the agreement did not include terms that would be contrary to public policy or have adverse effects on the parties’ employees.

The Fair Work Commission, after reviewing the evidence and submissions, found that the enterprise agreement was procedurally valid and substantively sound. The Commission concluded that the agreement was made following the appropriate processes and did not include any terms that contravened public policy or negatively impacted the employees. The Deputy President Jones emphasised the importance of the agreement in providing fair and equitable terms for the employees while also supporting the operational needs of Bunnings.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Bunnings Victorian Distribution Centre - National Union of Workers Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021, effective from the date of the decision. This approval ensures that the agreement remains in force, providing a framework for the employment conditions of the parties involved.

Bunnings Group Limited T/A Bunnings

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established