DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board T/A Metropolitan Fire Brigade
(AG2016/404)

METROPOLITAN FIRE BRIGADE, AMWU MECHANICAL ENGINEERING WORKSHOPS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 29 FEBRUARY 2016

Application for approval of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, AMWU Mechanical Engineering Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, AMWU Mechanical Engineering Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board T/A Metropolitan Fire Brigade. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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 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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 29 February 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 7 March 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this case were the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board, trading as the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU). The dispute centred on the approval of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade AMWU Mechanical Engineering Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2015. The Fair Work Commission was the tribunal tasked with deciding whether the agreement should be approved.

The primary legal issues before the Fair Work Commission were whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in relation to the provision of minimum entitlements and the process by which the agreement was made. The Commission had to determine if the agreement contained all mandated minimum entitlements, if the agreement was genuinely negotiated, and if the agreement was made in good faith. Additionally, the Commission had to consider if the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Act and if it was in the public interest to approve it.

The Fair Work Commission examined the terms of the agreement and the process by which it was negotiated. The Commission noted that the agreement contained all mandated minimum entitlements and was the result of genuine negotiations between the parties. Furthermore, the Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and that it complied with the statutory requirements of the Fair Work Act. After considering these factors, the Commission concluded that it was in the public interest to approve the agreement. Consequently, the Commission approved the Metropolitan Fire Brigade AMWU Mechanical Engineering Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2015.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission were that the Metropolitan Fire Brigade AMWU Mechanical Engineering Workshops Enterprise Agreement 2015 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The approval was to take effect from the date of the Commission's decision, and the agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission. This decision resolved the dispute between the parties and provided clarity on the terms and conditions of employment for the relevant employees.

Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board T/A Metropolitan Fire Brigade

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established