DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Joy Global Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2016/6762)

JOY GLOBAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD MOSS VALE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 2 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Joy Global Australia Pty Ltd Moss Vale Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Joy Global Australia Pty Ltd Moss Vale Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Joy Global Australia Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisations, I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 2 December 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 9 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 19 September 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter in Joy Global Australia Pty Ltd involved an application for the approval of the Moss Vale Enterprise Agreement 2016. The application was brought by the employer, Joy Global Australia Pty Ltd, and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) represented the employees. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) was tasked with determining whether the agreement should be approved, taking into account the relevant legislative framework and the principles of good faith bargaining.

The primary legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement was genuinely an enterprise agreement within the meaning of the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it was made in good faith. The Commission needed to assess whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act, including whether it covered the necessary terms and conditions of employment and whether it provided for a fair and reasonable process for the resolution of disputes.

In its decision, the FWC noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that it met the formal requirements of the Act. The Commission found that the agreement covered all the essential terms and conditions of employment, including wages, penalties, allowances, and other employment terms. It was satisfied that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for the resolution of disputes and that it was made in accordance with the principles of good faith bargaining. Consequently, the FWC approved the agreement, finding it to be a genuine enterprise agreement.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Moss Vale Enterprise Agreement 2016 be approved, effective from the date of the decision. This approval signified that the agreement would govern the employment terms and conditions of the employees covered by the agreement, subject to the continued compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

Joy Global Australia Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established