Independent Education Union of Australia

[2014] FWCA 3679

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2014/6136)

CRESCENT HEAD COMMUNITY PRE-SCHOOL EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2014

Educational services
COMMISSIONER MCKENNA	SYDNEY, 3 JUNE 2014

Application for approval of the Crescent Head Community Pre-School Employee Collective Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Crescent Head Community Pre-School Employee 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. The applicant has provided written undertakings addressing miscellaneous matters. A copy of the undertakings is attached to this decision and marked “Annexure A”. I note that, under s.191 of the Act, the undertakings are taken to be terms of the Agreement. Further, I also note, as the Agreement does not contain a complying consultation term, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[3] The IEU concurs with the content of the undertakings and 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 three years thereafter.

COMMISSIONER

Annexure A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Independent Education Union of Australia lodged an application for the approval of the Crescent Head Community Pre-School Employee Collective Agreement 2014. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the legal standards and requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining if the agreement complied with the provisions of the Act, particularly in terms of its procedural fairness, the negotiation process, and the substantive terms of the agreement.

The central legal issue for the Commission was whether the agreement was genuinely bargained between the employer and the union, and whether it included all the necessary provisions as mandated by the Fair Work Act. The Commission had to scrutinise the evidence presented regarding the negotiation process and the terms of the agreement to ensure that it was not only procedurally sound but also substantively fair and reasonable.

In its decision, the Commission found that the negotiation process was procedurally fair and that the agreement contained all the required provisions. The terms of the agreement were deemed to be fair and reasonable, meeting the standards set out in the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the Crescent Head Community Pre-School Employee Collective Agreement 2014. The approval was based on the evidence that the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining, and that it did not disadvantage the employees or the employer in a manner contrary to the principles of the Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established