DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Downer EDI Rail Pty Ltd T/A EDI Rail
(AG2020/3913)

DOWNER EDI RAIL NEWPORT FACILITY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Rail industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 29 JANUARY 2021

Application for approval of the Downer EDI Rail Newport Facility Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] Downer EDI Rail Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Downer EDI Rail Newport Facility Enterprise Agreement 2020 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided a written undertaking. A copy of the undertaking is attached at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and the undertaking will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertaking referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application, and the accompanying statutory declaration, 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] “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and the Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s 183 of the Act that they seek to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s 201(2) and based on the statutory declarations provided by the organisations, I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 29 January 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 5 February 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 March 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Downer EDI Rail Pty Ltd, trading as EDI Rail, applied for approval of the Downer EDI Rail Newport Facility Enterprise Agreement 2020. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred around whether the proposed agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The key legal issues the Commission was required to decide involved the fairness and compliance of the proposed agreement. This included whether the agreement provided adequate protections for employees, whether it was free from prohibited content, and whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and employees. The Commission also considered the process by which the agreement was formed, including the fairness of the consultation and negotiation processes.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was fair and compliant with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided appropriate protections for employees and was free from any content that was prohibited under the Act. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees. The Commission also found that the process by which the agreement was formed was fair and met the necessary legal standards.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Downer EDI Rail Newport Facility Enterprise Agreement 2020. This approval was contingent upon certain conditions, including the requirement that any changes to the agreement must be made through the same process of genuine negotiation and consultation as was undertaken for the original agreement. The Commission also ordered that the agreement would come into effect on a specified date, and that any disputes arising from the agreement would be resolved in accordance with the Fair Work Act.

Downer EDI Rail Pty Ltd T/A EDI Rail

DECISION

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established