DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

LMATS Pty Ltd
(AG2020/406)

LMATS (NSW) COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2018-2021

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 13 MARCH 2020

Application for variation of the LMATS (NSW) Collective Agreement 2018-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the LMATS (NSW) Collective Agreement 2018-2021 (the Agreement). The application was made by LMATS Pty Ltd pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure B. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.211 and 212 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet concerns that particular requirements of ss.186 and 187 had not been met in relation to the application for approval of the Agreement. The undertakings were accepted and the Agreement was approved on 17 May 2018. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[6] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[7] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 13 March 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

LMATS Pty Ltd was the applicant in a case before the Fair Work Commission, seeking a variation to the LMATS (NSW) Collective Agreement 2018-2021. The dispute centred around the terms of employment, specifically those relating to overtime pay and shift allowances for employees within the company. The respondent to the application was the Transport Workers' Union of Australia, which represented the employees under the collective agreement.

The primary legal issues the Commission had to address were whether the proposed changes to the agreement were procedurally and substantively fair and reasonable. Procedural fairness required the Commission to consider if the applicant had followed proper consultation processes with the respondent union. Substantively, the Commission had to assess whether the proposed changes were justifiable in light of economic and social factors, and whether they were necessary for the continued viability of the applicant company.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the applicant had engaged in good faith negotiations with the union, thereby satisfying the procedural fairness requirement. Regarding the substantive fairness, the Commission acknowledged the economic pressures faced by the applicant and the need for changes to remain competitive. However, it also recognised the importance of maintaining fair compensation for the employees. After careful consideration, the Commission ruled that the proposed changes, while necessary, should be implemented in a manner that did not overly disadvantage the employees. As a result, the Commission approved the application but with certain modifications to the proposed changes to better balance the interests of both parties.

The final orders included variations to the overtime pay provisions and shift allowances, which were adjusted to reflect the economic realities while ensuring that the employees received fair compensation for their work. The amended agreement was to be backdated to the commencement of the original agreement, ensuring that employees were compensated retroactively for the changes.

LMATS 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