Monash University Gippsland Student Union Inc. Summary

[2013] FWCA 4041

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Monash University Gippsland Student Union Inc.
(AG2013/7031)

MUGSU INC. CHILD CARE WORKERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Children’s services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMILTON	MELBOURNE, 21 JUNE 2013

Application for approval of the MUGSU Inc. Child Care Workers Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the MUGSU Inc. Child Care Workers Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Monash University Gippsland Student Union Inc. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] I have accepted the undertaking attached to this decision which has been given by the employer.

[3] 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.

[4] 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.

[5] The agreement does not contain a model flexibility term compliant with the Act. 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 28 June 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 21 June 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

ATTACHMENT A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Monash University Gippsland Student Union Inc. was involved in a dispute concerning the approval of the MUGSU Inc. Child Care Workers Enterprise Agreement 2013. The matter was brought before the Fair Work Commission, which was responsible for assessing the fairness of the agreement in question. The crux of the dispute centred around whether the enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues the court needed to resolve included whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable method for resolving disputes between the employer and employees, if it contained appropriate provisions for employee entitlements, and if the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties. Furthermore, the court had to determine if the agreement complied with the procedural requirements set out in the Act.

In its reasoning, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that it contained fair and reasonable terms and conditions. The Commission noted that the agreement provided a fair and effective mechanism for resolving disputes and contained adequate provisions for employee entitlements. The Commission also determined that the procedural requirements of the Act had been met. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding it to be fair and reasonable.

The final orders of the Commission were that the MUGSU Inc. Child Care Workers Enterprise Agreement 2013 be approved in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to take effect from the date of the Commission's decision and would apply to all child care workers employed by Monash University Gippsland Student Union Inc.

Monash University Gippsland Student Union Inc.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established