DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Delfab Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2018/1513)

AMWU AND THE DELFAB ENGINEERING PTY LTD COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WORKSHOP AGREEMENT 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	DARWIN, 6 AUGUST 2018

Application for approval of the AMWU and the DELFAB ENGINEERING PTY LTD Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AMWU and the DELFAB ENGINEERING PTY LTD Collective Bargaining Workshop 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 Delfab Engineering Pty Ltd. 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] 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 “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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 13 August 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union and Delfab Engineering Pty Ltd, applied for approval of the AMWU and Delfab Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2017 under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant union is a registered organisation for the purposes of the Act. The applicant employer is an employer for the purposes of the Act and is carrying on a business. The applicant employer employs the members of the union. The Fair Work Commission heard the application. The nature of the dispute was the approval of a collective agreement made by the union and employer that aimed to set the terms and conditions of employment for certain workers.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the agreement met the requirements of section 233 of the Act, which sets out the circumstances in which an agreement can be approved. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient system of classification of employees and a fair and efficient system of rates of pay and other conditions of employment for employees. Additionally, the court had to determine whether the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining obligations under section 228 of the Act.

The court's reasoning and outcome were based on a thorough examination of the agreement and the evidence presented by the parties. The court found that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient system of classification and rates of pay, and that it complied with the good faith bargaining obligations. The court also noted that the agreement included provisions for dispute resolution and protected the rights of employees. The court was satisfied that the agreement met the requirements of section 233 of the Act and approved the application for registration. The court's decision was based on a detailed analysis of the agreement and the evidence presented by the parties, and it provided clarity on the legal requirements for the approval of collective agreements under the Fair Work Act.

The final orders of the court were that the AMWU and Delfab Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2017 be approved and registered as a registered agreement under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The court's decision provided certainty for the parties and established important principles for the approval of collective agreements in similar cases in the future.

Delfab Engineering 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