Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance Summary

[2023] FWCA 1209

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance

(AG2023/1089)

MAMMA MIA! THE MUSICAL CASUAL CREW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2023

Live performance industry
COMMISSIONER HARPER-GREENWELL	MELBOURNE, 28 APRIL 2023

Application for approval of the Mamma Mia! The Musical Casual Crew Collective Agreement 2023

An application has been made for approval of a greenfields agreement known as the Mamma Mia! The Musical Casual Crew Collective Agreement 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act).

This is a greenfields agreement that meets the requirements of s. 172(2)(b) of the Act. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. In accordance with s.187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

Pursuant to s.53(2)(b) of the Act I note the Agreement was made with the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and that the Agreement covers this organisation.

The Agreement was approved on 28 April 2023 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 5 May 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance applied for approval of a new collective agreement for the Mamma Mia! The Musical Casual Crew. The applicant, as the bargaining representative for the employees, sought to formalise the terms and conditions under which the casual crew would work in relation to the performance of Mamma Mia! The Musical in Australia. The dispute centred around whether the proposed agreement complied with the relevant legislative and regulatory framework governing workplace agreements in Australia, particularly the Fair Work Act 2009.

The court was required to determine whether the proposed agreement met all the necessary statutory requirements and whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions for the casual crew members. This involved examining the agreement's provisions against the Fair Work Act and ensuring that it did not contain any unlawful terms or conditions. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and whether it provided adequate protections for the employees' rights and entitlements.

After reviewing the proposed agreement, the Fair Work Commission determined that the agreement complied with the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act. The commission found that the agreement contained fair and reasonable terms and conditions for the casual crew members and that it had been negotiated in good faith. The commission was satisfied that the agreement provided adequate protections for the employees' rights and entitlements and approved the agreement. Consequently, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance's application for approval of the Mamma Mia! The Musical Casual Crew Collective Agreement 2023 was successful.

Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established