DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia – Queensland and Northern Territory Branch
(AG2019/2250)

WALLAVILLE COMMUNITY KINDERGARTEN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION COLLECTIVE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Educational services
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 19 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Wallaville Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Wallaville Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Independent Education Union of Australia – Queensland and Northern Territory Branch. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met.

[4] The Agreement lodged contained an error at page 33 concerning the rate of pay of a casual exempt teacher at the Grade 3, Year 3 classification level. On 12 September 2019, the Applicant filed an amended version of the Agreement correcting this error. I am satisfied that the correction should be made and that it is appropriate to do so pursuant to s.586 of the Act.

[5] The Independent Education 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 26 September 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in the case were the Independent Education Union of Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory Branch, which sought approval of the Wallaville Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, Australia's workplace relations tribunal. The union applied for the approval of this collective agreement, which governs the employment conditions of early childhood educators and support staff at Wallaville Community Kindergarten. The primary dispute centred around whether the proposed agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions, and if it complied with procedural requirements.

The legal issues that the court had to decide were whether the agreement was a "good faith" bargain, whether it contained the minimum entitlements as required by law, and if the proper procedural steps had been followed in the negotiation and execution of the agreement. Additionally, the court examined whether any of the provisions within the agreement unfairly disadvantaged the employees or contravened any provisions of the Fair Work Act. The union needed to demonstrate that the agreement was the product of genuine negotiations and that it was in the best interests of the employees it represented.

The court examined the evidence provided and found that the agreement was indeed a genuine product of negotiations between the union and the employer. The agreement was found to contain all the necessary minimum terms and conditions, including those mandated by the Fair Work Act. The court also confirmed that all procedural steps had been correctly followed. As a result, the court approved the Wallaville Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019. This decision confirmed the agreement as legally binding between the union, the employer, and the employees covered by it.

Independent Education Union of Australia – Queensland and Northern Territory Branch

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established