Ecodynamics Pty Ltd Summary

[2017] FWCA 4218

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Ecodynamics Pty Ltd

(AG2017/2534)

Ecodynamics Landscaping Enterprise Agreement 2017-2021

Gardening services
Deputy President Colman	MELBOURNE, 15 AUGUST 2017

Application for approval of the Ecodynamics Landscaping Enterprise Agreement 2017-2021.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Ecodynamics Landscaping Enterprise Agreement 2017-2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Ecodynamics Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

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 Agreement was approved on 15 August 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 22 August 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 August 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ecodynamics Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Ecodynamics Landscaping Enterprise Agreement 2017-2021. The applicant is a landscaping company and the respondent is the Australian Workers' Union, acting on behalf of the company's employees. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission, which has the power to approve, modify, or reject enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute arose because the union objected to certain terms of the agreement, claiming they were contrary to public policy and not genuinely bargained.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the disputed terms were contrary to public policy and whether they were genuinely the product of bargaining between the parties. The union argued that the terms allowing for the termination of employment for operational requirements, and for a reduction in wages to compensate for a reduction in hours, were not genuinely bargained and were contrary to public policy. The company argued that the terms were a genuine product of bargaining and were not contrary to public policy. The Commission found that the terms were genuinely bargained and not contrary to public policy, and approved the agreement with those terms intact.

The Commission's reasoning was that the employees had been given an opportunity to bargain over the terms of the agreement, and the terms in question were not unreasonable or oppressive. The Commission also found that the terms were not contrary to public policy, as they did not undermine the public interest or the principles of the Fair Work Act. The Commission approved the agreement with the disputed terms intact, and the union's objections were dismissed.

Ecodynamics Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established