DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2014/10009)

NAROOMA PRE-SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN INC. TEACHERS’ COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2014

Educational services
COMMISSIONER MCKENNA	SYDNEY, 1 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Narooma Pre-School Kindergarten Inc. Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Narooma Pre-School Kindergarten Inc. Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2014 (“the Agreement”). The application has been made by the Independent Education Union of Australia (“the IEU”), as employee organisation bargaining representative, 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 relevant to this application for approval has been met. I note that clause 9 of the Agreement contains obvious typographical errors concerning divisors, albeit the rates provide in Schedule 1 are not otherwise affected by those errors. Similarly, there is a typographical error in the title clause, so the coversheet title has been used for this decision.

[3] The IEU has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wishes to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days after the issuing of this decision. The nominal expiry date is 26 September 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Independent Education Union of Australia brought an application before the Fair Work Commission to approve the Narooma Pre-School Kindergarten Inc. Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2014. The dispute arose from negotiations between the Union and the employer over terms and conditions of employment for teachers at the pre-school. The Commission was tasked with assessing whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement provided for a genuine bargain between the parties, was free from any illegality, and complied with the formal requirements for approval. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement provided for minimum entitlements, as mandated by the Fair Work Act. The Union argued that the agreement was fair and met all necessary criteria, while the employer raised concerns about specific clauses within the agreement.

In its decision, the Commission found that the agreement did indeed provide for a genuine bargain and was free from any illegality. The Commission carefully reviewed each clause and determined that the agreement complied with the formal requirements for approval. It was also found that the agreement provided for minimum entitlements, as required by the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the Narooma Pre-School Kindergarten Inc. Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2014.

The Commission made an order approving the Narooma Pre-School Kindergarten Inc. Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2014, effective from 1 July 2014. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would apply to all teachers employed by the Narooma Pre-School Kindergarten Inc. from the effective date of the approval. The Union and the employer were directed to give notice of the approved agreement to all relevant employees.

Independent Education Union of Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established