DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Callidus Welding Solutions Pty Ltd
(AG2019/3453)

CALLIDUS WELDING SOLUTIONS WORKSHOP ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BULL	SYDNEY, 13 NOVEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Callidus Welding Solutions Workshop Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application (Form F16) has been filed by Callidus Welding Solutions Pty Ltd (the applicant), for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Callidus Welding Solutions Workshop Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement as per s.172(2) of the Act.

[2] Following issues being raised with the applicant by the Commission, the applicant provided undertakings, including replacement clauses, regarding:

• Definitions of full-time and part-time employees;

• Non-engagement of apprentices under 16 years of age;

• Pay rates for First Aid holders;

• Non-engagement of salaried employees under the Agreement;

• Rostering arrangements for employee working nightshifts; and

• Pay rates for work performed away from an employee’s usual place of residence.

[3] The undertakings are attached at the end of the Agreement. I am satisfied pursuant to s.190(3) of the Act 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. Pursuant to s.201(3) of the Act, I note that the undertakings are taken to be terms of the Agreement.

[4] The views of the bargaining representatives were sought regarding the undertakings in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. 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, raised no issues with the undertakings.

[5] 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days from the date of approval. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 4 years from the date of approval of the Agreement.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Callidus Welding Solutions Pty Ltd was involved in a dispute regarding the approval of the Callidus Welding Solutions Workshop Enterprise Agreement 2019. The matter was brought before the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The primary issue before the FWC was whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically in terms of procedural fairness and substantive fairness.

The FWC considered whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees, and whether it addressed the relevant issues for the workplace in a manner that was fair and reasonable. The Commission also examined if the process through which the agreement was negotiated was transparent and free from coercion or undue influence. The FWC's decision hinged on the evidence presented by both parties and the provisions of the Fair Work Act, which mandates that enterprise agreements must be certified as meeting the requirements for procedural and substantive fairness before they can be approved.

In its decision, the FWC found that the Callidus Welding Solutions Workshop Enterprise Agreement 2019 met the necessary criteria for approval. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and covered all the essential issues for the workplace. The process of negotiation was deemed to have been conducted in a fair and transparent manner, without any undue influence or coercion. As a result, the FWC approved the agreement, allowing it to be registered and enforceable.

The FWC's final order was the approval and registration of the Callidus Welding Solutions Workshop Enterprise Agreement 2019, effective from the date of the decision. This approval validated the agreement as a binding contract between the employer and the employees, ensuring that the terms and conditions set out in the agreement would be enforceable under the Fair Work Act.

Callidus Welding Solutions 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