Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 6897

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7620)

GARDNER DENVER INDUSTRIES PTY LTD COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 1 OCTOBER 2014

Application for approval of the Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] Undertakings have been given in relation to several clauses of the Agreement and those undertakings have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and are appended at Appendix A.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 8 October 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2014. The respondents were the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and the Australian Workers’ Union. The applicants sought approval of the agreement which was intended to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for their employees. The dispute was primarily over the interpretation of certain provisions within the agreement, particularly those relating to overtime and shift allowances.

The legal issues before the Commission involved determining whether the provisions of the agreement were consistent with the relevant industrial legislation, specifically the Fair Work Act 2009. Key points of contention included the interpretation of the term "overtime" and the calculation of shift allowances, as well as the overall fairness of the agreement in terms of its impact on the employees and the applicants' business operations.

In its reasoning, the Commission examined the relevant sections of the Fair Work Act and considered precedent cases to interpret the ambiguous terms within the agreement. It found that the applicants had met their burden of proving the agreement was in the interests of the employees and was fair and reasonable. The Commission approved the agreement, confirming that it complied with the necessary legislative requirements and was fair in terms of the balance of interests of the parties involved.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2014 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. This decision allows the agreement to be legally binding on the parties and enforceable in the workplace.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established