Marand Precision Engineering Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 1551

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Marand Precision Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2014/359)

MARAND PRECISION ENGINEERING EMPLOYEE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 4 MARCH 2014

Application for approval of the Marand Precision Engineering Employee Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Marand Precision Engineering Employee Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Marand Precision Engineering 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 the consultation clause of the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A to this decision.

[4] The version of the Agreement published with this decision does not include Attachment 1 or Attachment 2 to the Agreement. Attachment 1 is a copy of the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010 as at 3 April 2009 and Attachment 2 is Part 2-2 of the Act - The National Employment Standards.

[5] As these 2 attachments run to 161 pages they make the decision and agreement too large to be easily upoloaded to the FWC website or downloaded by persons accessing that website. The attachments do form part of the Agreement and are retained on the Commission’s file.

[6] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 10 March 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Marand Precision Engineering Pty Ltd, sought approval of the Marand Precision Engineering Employee Agreement 2013 under section 235 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, with the Honourable Justice Edelman presiding. The dispute arose from a disagreement between the employer and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union regarding the terms and conditions of employment for certain employees within the company.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the proposed employee agreement met the requirements of section 174 of the Fair Work Act, which mandates that certain employee agreements be approved by the Fair Work Commission if they are to be registered with the Registrar of Companies. The court was required to determine if the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable outcome for the employees and whether it complied with the procedural requirements set out in the Act.

Justice Edelman held that the application was not made in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. The court found that the applicant had failed to provide the required documentation and evidence to substantiate the claims made in the application. Furthermore, the court determined that the application did not address all the relevant issues that needed to be considered under the Act. As a result, the application was dismissed, and the proposed employee agreement was not approved.

The court's decision highlights the importance of strict compliance with the procedural requirements set out in the Fair Work Act when seeking approval of an employee agreement. Employers must ensure that they provide all necessary documentation and evidence to support their application and address all relevant issues to avoid the risk of the application being dismissed.

Marand Precision Engineering Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established