DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Mark Heald T/A Fabmetal Specialists
(AG2019/3276)

FABMETAL SPECIALISTS AND AMWU METAL ENGINEERING ON-SITE CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT 2017 - 2020

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 24 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the FABMETAL SPECIALISTS and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2017-2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the FABMETAL SPECIALISTS and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2017-2020 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Mark Heald T/A Fabmetal Specialists. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[5] 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. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 1 October 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this case are Mark Heald trading as Fabmetal Specialists and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union. The nature of the dispute pertains to the application for approval of the FABMETAL SPECIALISTS and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2017-2020. The matter was heard by the Fair Work Commission of Australia.

The legal issues before the court revolved around the validity and enforceability of the proposed agreement, as well as its compliance with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant sought the Commission's approval of the agreement, which would grant it legal status and enforceability between the parties involved. The court needed to determine whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, met the criteria for good faith bargaining, and complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission, after considering the evidence and submissions presented by the parties, found that the agreement met the necessary requirements for approval. The Commission concluded that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties, as evidenced by the exchange of proposals and the presence of an independent mediator. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the agreement met the criteria for good faith bargaining and complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. As a result, the Commission approved the FABMETAL SPECIALISTS and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2017-2020.

The final orders of the court were that the FABMETAL SPECIALISTS and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2017-2020 be approved, effective from the date of the decision. The approved agreement would now have legal status and enforceability between the parties, governing their respective rights and obligations under the agreement.

Mark Heald T/A Fabmetal Specialists

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established