DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Crown Equipment Pty Ltd
(AG2017/4795)

CROWN EQUIPMENT PTY LTD QUEENSLAND SERVICE DEPARTMENT ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 4 DECEMBER 2017

Application for approval of the Crown Equipment Pty Ltd Queensland Service Department Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Crown Equipment Pty Ltd Queensland Service Department Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Crown Equipment 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) 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 11 December 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Crown Equipment Pty Ltd, trading as Crown Forklifts, and the United Voice Queensland Branch, applied for approval of the Crown Equipment Pty Ltd Queensland Service Department Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) under the Fair Work Act 2009. The legal issues before the FWC were whether the enterprise agreement met the good faith bargaining requirement and whether it complied with the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009. The applicant argued that the agreement was the product of good faith bargaining and met all statutory requirements.

The FWC found that the enterprise agreement was the result of genuine negotiations between the parties, meeting the good faith bargaining requirement. The applicant had presented evidence of its efforts to engage in discussions with the union, and the union had demonstrated its willingness to negotiate. The FWC considered the bargaining process, including the exchanges between the parties, and determined that both parties had acted in good faith. Furthermore, the FWC found that the agreement complied with all relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act. The FWC approved the enterprise agreement based on its findings that it met all statutory requirements.

The FWC approved the Crown Equipment Pty Ltd Queensland Service Department Enterprise Agreement 2017, finding that it was the product of good faith bargaining and complied with all relevant statutory provisions. The FWC considered the evidence of negotiations and exchanges between the parties and found that both parties had acted in good faith. The FWC's decision is a useful reminder of the importance of genuine negotiations in the enterprise agreement process and the need for parties to demonstrate that they have acted in good faith when seeking approval of an enterprise agreement.

Crown Equipment 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