Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 6778

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7013)

KOMATSU AUSTRALIA PTY LTD GERALDTON SERVICE BRANCH DIVISION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 30 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd Geraldton Service Branch Division Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd Geraldton Service Branch Division Enterprise Agreement 2014 (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] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 30 September 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 7 October 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Fair Work Commission, Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd Geraldton Service Branch Division Enterprise Agreement 2014. The applicant was an employer, and the respondent was the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, representing the employees of the Geraldton Service Branch Division. The primary dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment as stipulated in the proposed enterprise agreement, including wages, working hours, and other employment-related matters. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission involved assessing whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive provisions of the Fair Work Act, including provisions related to good faith bargaining, the coverage of the agreement, and the rights and obligations of the parties. A key issue was whether the agreement appropriately balanced the interests of the employees and the employer while adhering to the principles of industrial fairness and the national system of industrial relations.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement satisfied the necessary procedural requirements, having been formed through genuine bargaining between the parties. The Commission also determined that the substantive provisions of the agreement, including the terms relating to wages, working hours, and other conditions of employment, met the criteria for industrial fairness and did not unduly disadvantage either party. The Commission concluded that the agreement provided an appropriate framework for the employment relationship within the national system of industrial relations. As a result, the application for approval was granted.

The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd Geraldton Service Branch Division Enterprise Agreement 2014, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would govern the employment conditions of the employees within the specified division until superseded by a new agreement or until terminated in accordance with the Fair Work Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established