DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd T/A Yates Australia Summary

[2018] FWCA 7378

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd T/A Yates Australia

(AG2018/3859)

Yates Wyee Enterprise Agreement 2018

Manufacturing and associated industries
Deputy President Colman	MELBOURNE, 4 DECEMBER 2018

Application for approval of the Yates Wyee Enterprise Agreement 2018.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Yates Wyee Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd T/A Yates Australia. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

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.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The National Union of Workers 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement was approved on 4 December 2018 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 11 December 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 November 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the recent case, DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd, trading as Yates Australia, applied for approval of the Yates Wyee Enterprise Agreement 2018 before the Fair Work Commission. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking the Commission's approval for the proposed agreement which aimed to govern the employment conditions of workers at the Yates Wyee facility. The dispute centred around the procedural fairness of the bargaining process and whether the agreement adequately represented the employees' interests.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement had been genuinely bargained for by the employer and the employees, and whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval. This included an assessment of whether the agreement provided for the terms and conditions of employment that were no less favourable than the applicable award or registered agreement, and whether it was made in good faith and without coercion. The Commission also needed to determine whether the process of bargaining was conducted fairly and whether there was sufficient representation of the employees' interests.

The Commission carefully reviewed the evidence and submissions presented by both parties. It examined the bargaining process to ensure it was conducted in good faith and without coercion. The Commission assessed the content of the agreement against the statutory requirements and compared it to the existing industrial instruments. The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely bargained for and met the statutory criteria for approval. It concluded that the agreement provided for terms and conditions of employment that were no less favourable than the relevant award or agreement, and that the process of bargaining was fair and transparent.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Yates Wyee Enterprise Agreement 2018, confirming that it complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission determined that the agreement was a product of genuine bargaining and adequately represented the employees' interests. The approval was based on the evidence that the bargaining process was conducted in good faith and without coercion, and that the agreement met the statutory criteria for being no less favourable than the applicable industrial instruments.

DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd T/A Yates Australia

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established