DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Lai Switchboards Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2015/578)

LAI SWITCHBOARDS AUSTRALIA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT DRAKE	SYDNEY, 27 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the Lai Switchboards Australia Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Lai Switchboards Australia Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Lai Switchboards Australia Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to the application for approval have been met.

[4] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers that organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s54 of the Act, will operate from 3 April 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 7 October 2018.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Lai Switchboards Australia Pty Ltd sought approval for the Lai Switchboards Australia Enterprise Agreement 2014 before the Fair Work Commission. The application was brought by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, which was the employer's bargaining representative. The employer contested the application, arguing that the agreement did not meet the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was free from prohibited content, if it had been genuinely bargained, and if it met the requirements for being a single, indivisible agreement. The Commission found that the agreement did not include any provisions that were contrary to the Act or the public interest. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was genuinely bargained, as it was reached through a process of negotiation and consultation between the parties. The Commission also found that the agreement was a single, indivisible agreement, as it dealt with all matters that were the subject of the negotiations between the parties.

The Commission approved the Lai Switchboards Australia Enterprise Agreement 2014, finding that it met the requirements for approval under the Act. The employer's objections were dismissed. The Commission's decision was based on its finding that the agreement was free from prohibited content, had been genuinely bargained, and was a single, indivisible agreement. The agreement was approved as a certified agreement under the Act.

Lai Switchboards 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