M Workforce Pty Ltd

[2023] FWCA 677

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

M Workforce Pty Ltd

(AG2023/351)

MWPL Enterprise Agreement 2023

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT	PERTH, 2 MARCH 2023

Application for approval of the MWPL Enterprise Agreement 2023

M Workforce Pty Ltd (the Applicant) has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the MWPL Enterprise Agreement 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declarations, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement was approved on 2 March 2023 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 9 March 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 March 2027.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by M Workforce Pty Ltd for the approval of the MWPL Enterprise Agreement 2023. The company sought to have the agreement, which was negotiated between the employer and the employees' representative, recognised as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around whether the agreement met the necessary legal criteria for registration and whether it complied with the provisions of the Act.

The primary legal issues addressed by the Commission included whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it contained the required minimum terms and conditions of employment as stipulated by the Act. Additionally, the Commission considered whether the agreement adequately protected the rights of employees and whether it was fair and reasonable in all its aspects. The Commission also examined whether the agreement had been appropriately certified by the Australian Building and Construction Commission as meeting the necessary requirements for registration.

In its decision, the Commission found that the MWPL Enterprise Agreement 2023 met the necessary criteria for approval. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties and that it contained the required minimum terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also found that the agreement provided adequate protection for employees' rights and was fair and reasonable in all its aspects. The Commission noted that the agreement had been certified by the Australian Building and Construction Commission as meeting the necessary requirements for registration, which further supported its decision to approve the agreement. Consequently, the Commission approved the MWPL Enterprise Agreement 2023 as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established