ITW Australia Pty Ltd T/A Ramsetreid Summary

[2017] FWCA 4705

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

ITW Australia Pty Ltd T/A Ramsetreid

(AG2017/3504)

ramsetreid and AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2017

Application for approval of the ramsetreid and AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2017.

On 11 August 2017 ITW Australia Pty Ltd T/A Ramsetreid (Applicant) made an application for approval of the ramsetreid and AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2017 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached as Annexure A. The Commission is 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, the Commission is satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), 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), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers this organisation.

The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 18 September 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved ITW Australia Pty Ltd trading as Ramsetreid and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU). The dispute centred on the application for the approval of the ramsetreid and AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2017. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the necessary legal criteria for approval, including the process by which it was negotiated and the fairness of its terms.

The primary legal issues revolved around the procedural fairness of the agreement's negotiation and whether the agreement itself complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission had to consider whether the AMWU genuinely represented the majority of the employees covered by the agreement and whether the negotiation process was conducted in good faith. Additionally, the fairness and reasonableness of the agreement's terms had to be evaluated, including provisions on pay, conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was negotiated in a manner that was procedurally fair and that the AMWU genuinely represented the majority of employees. The Commission also determined that the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable, taking into account the broader economic context and the need for the agreement to be workable in practice. Consequently, the Commission approved the ramsetreid and AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2017, recognising it as a valid and binding agreement between the employer and the union.

ITW Australia Pty Ltd T/A Ramsetreid

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established