DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

MHE-Demag Australia Pty Ltd T/A MHE-Demag Australia
(AG2017/2552)

MHE-DEMAG AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. N.S.W ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	CANBERRA, 1 SEPTEMBER 2017

Application for approval of the MHE-Demag Australia Pty. Ltd. N.S.W. Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2017.

[1] On 29 June 2017 MHE-Demag Australia Pty Ltd T/A MHE-Demag Australia (Applicant) made an application for approval of the MHE-Demag Australia Pty. Ltd. N.S.W. Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2017 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached as Annexure A. The Commission is 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. In any case, undertakings were provided to the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia for their reference.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, the Commission is satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

[5] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s 183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s 201(2), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[6] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 8 September 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of MHE-Demag Australia Pty Ltd T/A MHE-Demag Australia, the Fair Work Commission was presented with an application for the approval of a proposed enterprise bargaining agreement. The agreement in question, the MHE-Demag Australia Pty Ltd N.S.W. Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2017, was submitted for consideration under the Fair Work Act 2009. The primary dispute involved the terms and conditions set out in the proposed agreement and the extent to which they complied with the statutory requirements and principles of the Fair Work Act.

The legal issues before the Commission required determination of whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for approval under the Act. This included whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient system of determining wages and other conditions of employment, and whether it complied with the "better off overall test" which requires that employees be no worse off financially under the new agreement than they would be under the existing award or agreement. The Commission also needed to assess whether the agreement adhered to the good faith bargaining requirements and whether the bargaining process was conducted in a manner that was fair and free from coercion.

Upon review, the Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement substantially met the criteria for approval. The agreement was deemed to provide for a fair and efficient system of determining wages and conditions. The Commission concluded that employees would be better off overall under the new agreement, satisfying the requirements of the Act. Additionally, the Commission determined that the agreement was the product of good faith bargaining and that the process was conducted in a fair and transparent manner, without any evidence of coercion. Therefore, the application for approval of the MHE-Demag Australia Pty Ltd N.S.W. Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2017 was granted.

In its final orders, the Commission approved the agreement, effective from the date specified in the application, and directed that it be registered in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. This decision provides certainty and clarity for both the employer and the employees regarding the terms and conditions of their employment under the newly approved agreement.

MHE-Demag Australia Pty Ltd T/A MHE-Demag Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established