GE Energy Services Australia Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 1968

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

GE Energy Services Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2013/166)

GE ENERGY SERVICES AUSTRALIA (OSBORNE PARK) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 2 APRIL 2013

Application for approval of the GE Energy Services Australia (Osborne Park) Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the GE Energy Services Australia (Osborne Park) Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] I had some concerns regarding clause 39.2 in the Agreement. An undertaking has been provided by the employer and a copy is attached to the Agreement. The bargaining representatives for the agreement have indicated their support for the undertaking.

[4] 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, 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) of the Act 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 seven days from the date of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2015.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by GE Energy Services Australia Pty Ltd for the approval of the GE Energy Services Australia (Osborne Park) Enterprise Agreement 2013. The dispute centred around the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement, which aimed to govern the employment conditions of certain workers within the company. The application was brought under the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking the Commission's endorsement of the agreement as a registered enterprise agreement.

The legal issues before the Commission were primarily concerned with whether the proposed agreement met the statutory requirements for registration under the Fair Work Act. This included assessing whether the agreement had been made freely and without any duress, whether it complied with the various mandatory provisions set out in the Act, and whether the agreement had been fairly negotiated. Additionally, the Commission considered whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace, and whether it adequately protected the rights and interests of the employees involved.

In delivering its decision, the Commission carefully examined the evidence and submissions presented by both parties. It determined that the agreement was made without any coercion and that it complied with the mandatory provisions of the Fair Work Act. The Commission found that the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining between the employer and the employees' representatives. It also concluded that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace and adequately protected the rights and interests of the employees. Based on these findings, the Commission approved the proposed enterprise agreement, and it was registered under the Act.

The Fair Work Commission approved the GE Energy Services Australia (Osborne Park) Enterprise Agreement 2013 as a registered enterprise agreement, effective from the date of registration. This decision marked the formal acceptance of the agreement as the governing document for the employment conditions of the relevant workers at the Osborne Park site.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established