KONE Elevators Pty Ltd Summary

[2024] FWCA 3715

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

KONE Elevators Pty Ltd

(AG2024/3873)

KONE SERVICE EMPLOYEES NORTHERN REGION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT DEAN	CANBERRA, 25 OCTOBER 2024

Application for approval of the KONE Service Employees Northern Region Enterprise Agreement 2024.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the KONE Service Employees Northern Region Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by KONE Elevators Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Notice of Employee Representational Rights given to employees was not in the prescribed form as required under s.174(1A) of the Act in that an outdated version was used. I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s188(5)(a) and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error.
I am further 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) and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under section 183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover their organisation. In accordance with subsection 201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 1 November 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2027.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Fair Work Act 2009, KONE Elevators Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the KONE Service Employees Northern Region Enterprise Agreement 2024. The applicant argued that the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Act and should be approved as a registered agreement. The dispute primarily centred around whether the agreement adhered to the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act, including provisions related to employee representation and the negotiation process.

The court was required to consider whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, whether it was made in good faith, and whether it met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. Key issues included whether the agreement was negotiated with genuine representatives of the employees, whether the negotiation process was conducted in good faith, and whether the agreement provided for proper minimum terms and conditions of employment.

The Fair Work Commission examined the evidence presented by the parties and found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and made in good faith. The Commission noted that the applicant had demonstrated compliance with the procedural requirements of the Act, including providing notice of the negotiation and offering to negotiate with the relevant employee representatives. The Commission also found that the agreement contained appropriate minimum terms and conditions of employment and met the requirements for approval under the Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the KONE Service Employees Northern Region Enterprise Agreement 2024 as a registered agreement.

KONE Elevators Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established