DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2018/3170)

KOMATSU AUSTRALIA MOUNT THORLEY SERVICE DEPARTMENT ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 31 JULY 2018

Application for approval of the Komatsu Australia Mount Thorley Service Department Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Komatsu Australia Mount Thorley Service Department Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] 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) 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 7 August 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the Komatsu Australia Mount Thorley Service Department Enterprise Agreement 2018. The dispute arose from negotiations between Komatsu and its employees represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union regarding the terms and conditions of employment for the service department employees at the Mount Thorley site. The application was heard by Commissioner A.J. Scalzi, who was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement complied with the "better off overall test" stipulated in section 234 of the Act, which requires that the terms and conditions of employment under the agreement must be no less favourable to the employees than those under the applicable award or safety net award. The Commission also considered whether the agreement was made in good faith and if it contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act.

Commissioner Scalzi found that the agreement met the better off overall test, as the employees would be no worse off and in many cases better off under the agreement than under the applicable award. The Commission further determined that the agreement was made in good faith and contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act. As such, the application for approval was granted.

As a result, the Fair Work Commission approved the Komatsu Australia Mount Thorley Service Department Enterprise Agreement 2018, which now sets the terms and conditions of employment for the relevant employees. This decision ensures that the employees' rights and obligations are clearly defined and legally enforceable.

Komatsu 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