DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Mercury Walch as The Trustee for the Mercury Walch Trust T/A Mercury Walch Pty Ltd
(AG2019/3416)

MERCURY WALCH PTY LTD - STAFF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Graphic Arts
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MILLHOUSE	MELBOURNE, 15 OCTOBER 2019

Application for approval of the Mercury Walch Pty Ltd - Staff Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Mercury Walch Pty Ltd - Staff Enterprise Agreement 2019 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Mercury Walch as The Trustee for the Mercury Walch Trust T/A Mercury Walch Pty Ltd (Employer). 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings, 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[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 22 October 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Mercury Walch as the trustee for the Mercury Walch Trust trading as Mercury Walch Pty Ltd, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Mercury Walch Pty Ltd - Staff Enterprise Agreement 2019. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, which mandates the approval of enterprise agreements by the Commission before they can be registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. The applicant sought approval for an agreement that had been negotiated with employees and their representatives.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the enterprise agreement complied with the statutory requirements set out in the Fair Work Act. This included whether the agreement provided for terms and conditions of employment that were no worse off financially overall (NWOFOs) and whether it included all the necessary prescribed terms. The Commission also needed to assess whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it had been properly certified.

The Commission found that the enterprise agreement satisfied all the statutory requirements. It determined that the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were NWOFOs, included all necessary prescribed terms, and had been made in good faith. The applicant had provided evidence of the certification process, and the Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been properly certified. The Commission approved the agreement, finding it to be in compliance with the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Mercury Walch Pty Ltd - Staff Enterprise Agreement 2019, deeming it to be compliant with the statutory requirements of the Fair Work Act. This decision allows the agreement to be registered and enforceable as a binding enterprise agreement between the employer and the employees.

Mercury Walch as The Trustee for the Mercury Walch Trust T/A Mercury Walch Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established