DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

National Electrical Contracting Pty Ltd T/A Kirk Industrial
(AG2019/103)

KIRK INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018 - 2022

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 6 MARCH 2019

Application for approval of the Kirk Industrial Enterprise Agreement 2018 - 2022.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Kirk Industrial Enterprise Agreement 2018 - 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by National Electrical Contracting Pty Ltd T/A Kirk Industrial. 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 referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 6 March 2019 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 13 March 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 5 March 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, National Electrical Contracting Pty Ltd, trading as Kirk Industrial, applied for the approval of the Kirk Industrial Enterprise Agreement 2018 - 2022. The application was opposed by the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. The dispute centred around the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement, which the union argued contained provisions that were unfair to the employees it represented.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the terms of the enterprise agreement were procedurally and substantively fair. Procedurally, the union argued that the employer had not genuinely bargained with them and had failed to provide necessary information. Substantively, the union contended that certain terms were overly harsh and did not provide adequate protections for employees. The Commission needed to determine if the employer had complied with the legal requirements for genuine bargaining and if the agreement's terms met the standard of fairness as prescribed by the Fair Work Act 2009.

After considering the evidence and submissions from both parties, the Commission found that the employer had genuinely bargained with the union. The Commission accepted that the employer had provided necessary information and had engaged in meaningful discussions. Regarding the substantive fairness of the agreement, the Commission noted that while some terms were contentious, they were not so harsh as to render the agreement unfair. The Commission concluded that the agreement contained adequate protections for employees and that it was in the best interests of the employees to approve the agreement. The application was therefore approved.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Kirk Industrial Enterprise Agreement 2018 - 2022 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered on the terms and conditions as set out in the application, and it would apply to the employees covered by the agreement.

National Electrical Contracting Pty Ltd T/A Kirk Industrial

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established