DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation T/A Goulburn-Murray Water
(AG2015/5665)

GOULBURN-MURRAY RURAL WATER CORPORATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Water, sewerage and drainage services
COMMISSIONER BISSETT	MELBOURNE, 4 NOVEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation T/A Goulburn-Murray Water. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Australian Workers’ Union and CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2), I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1) of the Act, will operate from 11 November 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 3 November 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation T/A Goulburn-Murray Water sought approval for the Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation Enterprise Agreement 2014. The dispute revolved around the terms of the proposed agreement which the Corporation intended to implement for its employees. The nature of the disagreement was primarily focused on certain provisions of the agreement that the union representing the employees contested.

The legal issues that the Commission needed to decide included whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly concerning the process of its formation, and whether it contained all the mandated terms and conditions as outlined in the Act. The Commission also had to consider if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and if it complied with the provisions related to the minimum standards that are to be included in an enterprise agreement.

In reaching its decision, the Commission examined the process by which the agreement was negotiated and concluded that it had been fairly and properly conducted. The Commission found that the agreement contained all the required minimum terms and conditions, and that it was not contrary to the public interest. The Commission determined that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and approved the application for the Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation Enterprise Agreement 2014. The decision was made on the basis that the agreement provided a fair and reasonable outcome for both the Corporation and its employees, taking into account the economic circumstances and the need for productivity and efficiency in the water industry.

Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation T/A Goulburn-Murray Water

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established