Mainteck Services Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 3074

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Mainteck Services Pty Ltd
(AG2013/6271)

MAINTECK SERVICES PTY LTD PORT KEMBLA SLAB CASTER SEGMENT WORKSHOP ENTERPRISE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER CARGILL	SYDNEY, 20 MAY 2013

Application for approval of the Mainteck Services Pty Ltd Port Kembla Slab Caster Segment Workshop Enterprise Collective Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Mainteck Services Pty Ltd Port Kembla Slab Caster Segment Workshop Enterprise Collective Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Mainteck Services Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia - New South Wales Branch, and The Australian Workers’ Union - Port Kembla, South Coast and Southern Highlands Branch, each being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers each organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 27 May 2013. The nominal expiry date is 31 December 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Mainteck Services Pty Ltd recently came before the Fair Work Commission in an application for the approval of the Mainteck Services Pty Ltd Port Kembla Slab Caster Segment Workshop Enterprise Collective Agreement 2013. The dispute centred around the provisions of the agreement, which was intended to regulate the employment terms and conditions for employees in the specified workshop at the company's Port Kembla facility.

The legal issues before the Commission were primarily whether the provisions of the collective agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the necessary procedural fairness. The Commission needed to determine if the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and if it met the criteria for being a "simple, fair and flexible" agreement.

The Fair Work Commission examined the evidence provided by both parties and found that the agreement had indeed been genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees' representative. The Commission considered the fairness and flexibility of the agreement's provisions and concluded that they aligned with the objectives of the Fair Work Act. The Commission approved the collective agreement, finding that it complied with all statutory requirements and was made in accordance with procedural fairness. The Commission's decision was grounded in its assessment that the agreement was beneficial for both the employees and the employer, offering a balanced approach to employment terms and conditions.

The Fair Work Commission's final order was the approval of the Mainteck Services Pty Ltd Port Kembla Slab Caster Segment Workshop Enterprise Collective Agreement 2013, as submitted. This decision ensures that the agreement will be legally binding and will govern the employment conditions for the specified employees at the Port Kembla facility.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established