DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

City of Karratha
(AG2015/5268)

CITY OF KARRATHA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Local government administration
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 5 NOVEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the City of Karratha Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the City of Karratha Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by City of Karratha. 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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union and The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, 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 the organisations.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 5 November 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 12 November 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 August 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case, the City of Karratha sought approval for its Enterprise Agreement 2015 from the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The City of Karratha, as the employer, entered into the agreement with its employees, who were represented by the Local Government and Education Union (LGEU). The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the FWC were whether the agreement was made in good faith, whether it provided for the proper application of the law, and whether it contained the necessary minimum entitlements for employees as stipulated in the Act. The LGEU contested several aspects of the agreement, arguing that certain provisions were unfair and did not comply with the statutory requirements.

In reaching its decision, the FWC considered the principles of good faith bargaining and the legislative framework governing enterprise agreements. The Commission found that while the City of Karratha had generally engaged in good faith negotiations, some provisions of the agreement did not adequately protect employee entitlements. The FWC made specific orders to modify certain clauses to ensure compliance with the Act, ultimately approving the agreement with these modifications.

The FWC's final orders included specific amendments to the agreement to address the concerns raised by the LGEU, ensuring that the agreement met all legal requirements for approval. The approved agreement was thus allowed to proceed, subject to these modifications.

City of Karratha

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established