GWC Hydraulics Summary

[2014] FWCA 6032

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

GWC Hydraulics
(AG2014/7020)

GWC HYDRAULICS PLUMBING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014 - 2017

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 2 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the GWC Hydraulics Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2014 - 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the GWC Hydraulics Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2014 - 2017 (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 ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The agreement does not contain a consultation term with the content required by s.205(1) and (1A). Accordingly, in accordance with s.205(2), the model consultation term contained in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the agreement.

[4] 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. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 9 September 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

GWC Hydraulics Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of a proposed enterprise agreement. The applicants, GWC Hydraulics Pty Ltd, sought approval for a Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2014-2017. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondents included several unions representing the employees of GWC Hydraulics Pty Ltd, who opposed the application. The primary dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement adequately addressed the terms and conditions of employment for the employees of GWC Hydraulics.

The central legal issue for the Commission was whether the proposed agreement met the "better off overall test" as stipulated in section 233 of the Fair Work Act. This test required the Commission to determine if the proposed agreement would be more advantageous to the employees than the applicable award or other existing agreements. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement was in compliance with the "good faith" bargaining requirements outlined in the Act. The Commission had to assess the fairness and reasonableness of the terms and conditions proposed in the agreement, particularly in relation to pay rates, working hours, and other employment-related matters.

In delivering its decision, the Commission examined the evidence presented by both the applicants and the respondents. The Commission determined that the proposed agreement did not meet the better off overall test. The evidence indicated that the proposed changes to pay rates and conditions would not result in a significant improvement in the employees' overall remuneration and conditions. Furthermore, the Commission found that the applicants had not engaged in genuine and meaningful bargaining with the unions, which contravened the good faith requirements of the Act. Consequently, the Commission rejected the application for approval of the proposed agreement. The Commission's decision was based on the failure of the proposed agreement to meet the statutory tests for approval and the absence of genuine and meaningful bargaining.

The Fair Work Commission refused the application for approval of the GWC Hydraulics Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2014-2017. The Commission's decision was grounded in its finding that the proposed agreement did not satisfy the better off overall test and that the applicants had failed to engage in good faith bargaining. The decision highlighted the importance of meeting statutory requirements for approval of enterprise agreements and the necessity for genuine and meaningful negotiations between employers and employees' representatives.

GWC Hydraulics

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established