Makeview Windows & Doors Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 3815

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Makeview Windows & Doors Pty Ltd
(AG2013/6708)

MAKEVIEW WINDOWS & DOORS PTY LTD - ALUMINIUM ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2013 - 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 14 JUNE 2013

Application for approval of the Makeview Windows & Doors Pty Ltd - Aluminium Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2013 - 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Makeview Windows & Doors Pty Ltd - Aluminium Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2013 - 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Makeview Windows & Doors 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] An undertaking has been given in relation to several clauses of the Agreement and those undertakings have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(2) of the Act and are appended at Appendix A.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 21 June 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 20 June 2015.

COMMISSIONER

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APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, Makeview Windows & Doors Pty Ltd, sought approval for an enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) which it had negotiated with the union representing its employees. The union, United Voice NSW, had registered the agreement with the Commission, but the applicant sought approval due to a dispute over the union's right to represent the employees. The Commission was required to decide whether the union had the requisite authority to enter into the agreement on behalf of the employees and whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval.

The central issue before the Commission was whether United Voice NSW had the requisite authority to represent the employees in the negotiation and registration of the EBA. The applicant argued that the union did not have the authority because the employees were not members of the union. The union contended that it had been appointed by the employees as their bargaining agent under section 173 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission needed to determine the validity of the union's appointment and whether it had the authority to act on behalf of the employees.

The Commission found that the union had been properly appointed as the bargaining agent for the employees, despite the fact that not all employees were union members. The Commission noted that the union had been endorsed by a majority of the employees and that the applicant had not disputed the union's authority to act on their behalf. The Commission further found that the EBA met the statutory requirements for approval and did not contravene any relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The Commission approved the EBA, rejecting the applicant's objections.

The Commission's final order was the approval of the Makeview Windows & Doors Pty Ltd - Aluminium Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2013 - 2014. The Commission found that the union had the requisite authority to represent the employees and that the agreement met the necessary statutory requirements. The applicant's objections were dismissed, and the EBA was approved.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established