DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Metso Australia Limited
(AG2017/3859)

METSO (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED TOMAGO COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2017-2019

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 19 DECEMBER 2017

Application for approval of the Metso (Australia) Limited Tomago Collective Agreement 2017-2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Metso (Australia) Limited Tomago Collective Agreement 2017-2019. (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Metso Australia Limited. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[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.

[3] 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.

[4] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) AND National Union of Workers being the bargaining representatives for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that wants the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 26 December 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 March 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Metso Australia Limited was the subject of an application before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for the approval of the Metso (Australia) Limited Tomago Collective Agreement 2017-2019. The applicants, being the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The application was made in light of the parties’ failure to reach a resolution through conciliation and mediation processes facilitated by the FWC.

The central legal issues before the FWC revolved around whether the proposed collective agreement met the statutory criteria for approval. Specifically, the FWC had to determine whether the agreement was genuinely intended to be an agreement for the purposes of the Act, whether it complied with the procedural requirements, and whether it adhered to the 'better off overall test'. The latter required that the terms of the agreement be at least as good as the applicable award or the applicable minimum entitlements.

In examining the application, the FWC considered the procedural history of the agreement, the intention of the parties, and the content of the agreement itself. The FWC noted that the agreement had been the subject of extensive negotiation and consultation processes and that it had been entered into in good faith by the parties. The FWC was satisfied that the agreement met the statutory criteria for approval. The agreement was deemed to be genuinely intended to be an agreement, it complied with the procedural requirements, and it passed the better off overall test. Consequently, the FWC approved the Metso (Australia) Limited Tomago Collective Agreement 2017-2019 as a registered agreement.

The FWC's final orders included the registration of the Metso (Australia) Limited Tomago Collective Agreement 2017-2019 as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), effective from the date of the decision. This decision provided legal certainty to the parties regarding the terms of employment and ensured that the agreement would be enforceable in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Metso Australia Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established