Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance

[2021] FWCA 7058

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
(AG2021/8611)

GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY CASUAL CREW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2021

Live performance industry
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 10 DECEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the Girl From The North Country Casual Crew Collective Agreement 2021

[1] An application has been made for approval of a greenfields agreement known as the Girl From The North Country Casual Crew Collective Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a greenfields agreement. It has been made by Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. In particular, 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.

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

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1) of the Act, will operate from 17 December 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application before the Fair Work Commission was brought by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the recognised bargaining agent for the casual crew members of a production of the musical Girl From The North Country. The Commission was asked to approve a new enterprise agreement between the applicant union and the employer, to cover casual employees engaged by the production company to perform at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The applicant union had notified the employer that it intended to negotiate a new agreement, and the employer had not objected to the proposed agreement within the statutory time limit. The employer did not appear before the Commission or submit any evidence.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement contained all the required terms, and whether it met the ‘better-off overall’ test. The Commission noted that the proposed agreement contained all the required terms and that it did not include any prohibited content. The applicant union submitted that the proposed agreement was ‘better off overall’ for the employees it covered, when compared with the terms of the relevant industrial instrument in place immediately before the agreement. The employer did not object to the proposed agreement.

The Commission accepted that the proposed agreement contained all the required terms and that it did not include any prohibited content. The Commission found that the proposed agreement was better off overall for the employees it covered, when compared with the terms of the relevant industrial instrument in place immediately before the agreement. The Commission noted that the proposed agreement provided for wage increases, improvements to leave entitlements, and other benefits. The Commission concluded that the proposed agreement met the statutory test and approved the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established