DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2016/7144)

KOMATSU AUSTRALIA VICTORIAN SERVICE & ASSEMBLY DEPARTMENTS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	SYDNEY, 6 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Komatsu Australia Victorian Service & Assembly Departments Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Komatsu Australia Victorian Service & Assembly Departments Enterprise Agreement 2015 (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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[3] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union 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 was approved on 6 December 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 13 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Komatsu Australia Victorian Service & Assembly Departments Enterprise Agreement 2015. The applicants, being Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd and its employees, sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary legal requirements for registration, particularly in relation to the process through which the agreement was formed and the manner in which it was communicated to the employees.

The key legal issues before the court were whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and whether it was appropriately communicated to the employees. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining between the parties and if the necessary procedural requirements were fulfilled, including the proper communication of the agreement to the employees. The applicants argued that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and properly communicated, while the respondents raised concerns about the validity of the negotiation process and the adequacy of the communication.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and that the communication process was sufficient. The court examined the evidence presented regarding the negotiation process and concluded that the parties had engaged in genuine bargaining. The court also considered the manner in which the agreement was communicated to the employees and found that it met the necessary requirements for registration. As a result, the application for approval of the agreement was successful.

The Fair Work Commission approved the application and registered the Komatsu Australia Victorian Service & Assembly Departments Enterprise Agreement 2015 as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

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