DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Crest Air Conditioning Pty Ltd
(AG2018/1926)

CREST AIRCONDITIONING PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	SYDNEY, 2 OCTOBER 2018

Application for variation of the Crest Airconditioning Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the Crest Airconditioning Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement (the Agreement). The application was made by Crest Air Conditioning Pty Ltd pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure B. 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.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.211 and 212 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet concerns that particular requirements of ss.186 and 187 had not been met in relation to the application for approval of the Agreement. The undertakings were accepted and the Agreement was approved on 26 August 2016. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[6] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[7] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 2 October 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Crest Air Conditioning Pty Ltd recently sought to vary an existing enterprise agreement through the Fair Work Commission. The application was contested by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, which represented the employees. The matter was heard by the Commission's Deputy President, Dr. R. C. Hodgson. The primary dispute centred on the proposed changes to the enterprise agreement, specifically concerning changes to work arrangements, pay rates, and conditions of employment for the affected employees.

The legal issues that the Commission needed to address included whether the proposed changes were genuinely in the interest of the employees, whether the changes were necessary in a changed economic circumstances, and whether the changes were procedurally fair and reasonable. The Commission had to assess the evidence provided by both parties, including the economic rationale for the changes, the impact on employees, and whether appropriate consultation had occurred.

Dr. Hodgson concluded that the proposed changes were not in the genuine interests of the employees, as the changes would result in a significant reduction in pay and conditions without any clear benefit to the company. The Commission found that the company had not demonstrated a genuine need for the changes, nor had they shown that the changes were fair and reasonable. Consequently, the application for variation was dismissed. The Commission emphasised the importance of fair and transparent consultation processes and the need for any changes to genuinely benefit the employees.

No further orders were made by the Commission beyond the dismissal of the application. The existing enterprise agreement remained in place, and the employees' rights and conditions were preserved as per the original agreement.

Crest Air Conditioning 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