MAK Industrial Water Solutions Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 8605

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

MAK Industrial Water Solutions Pty Ltd
(AG2013/9826)

MAK INDUSTRIAL WATER SOLUTIONS PTY LTD QUEENLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT DRAKE	SYDNEY, 31 OCTOBER 2013

Application for approval of the MAK Industrial Water Solutions Pty Ltd Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the MAK Industrial Water Solutions Pty Ltd Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by MAK Industrial Water Solutions 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 Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s54 of the Act, will operate from 7 November 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 7 November 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, MAK Industrial Water Solutions Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the MAK Industrial Water Solutions Pty Ltd Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2013. The application was made by the employer under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking to have the proposed agreement approved as a registered agreement. The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union was the relevant union involved in the dispute. The dispute centred around whether the proposed agreement met the legal requirements for registration under the Fair Work Act.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement complied with the various statutory provisions of the Fair Work Act. This included assessing whether the agreement was made in good faith, whether it contained the required minimum terms and conditions of employment, and whether it was free from any invalid or unlawful provisions. Additionally, the Commission needed to determine whether the agreement was made with appropriate levels of employee and employer representation.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement did not meet the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission determined that the employer had failed to bargain in good faith with the union, and that the agreement contained several invalid and unlawful provisions. These included provisions that were deemed to be outside the scope of the agreement's coverage, as well as clauses that contravened minimum wage and penalty rate entitlements. As a result, the application for approval was dismissed, and the proposed agreement was not registered. The Commission's decision was based on a thorough analysis of the evidence presented and the application of relevant legal principles under the Fair Work Act.

MAK Industrial Water Solutions Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established