DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Newco Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2017/5376)

NEWCO ENGINEERING PTY LTD COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 1 FEBRUARY 2018

Application for approval of the Newco Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Newco Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Newco Engineering Pty Ltd. 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.

[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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 8 February 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Newco Engineering Pty Ltd is a company with employees represented by the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. The union and the company entered into a collective agreement in 2017. The union applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the agreement. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union sought to intervene in the application, seeking to argue that the agreement was not in the best interests of the employees. The intervener argued that the agreement did not adequately protect employees' entitlements and did not provide for appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms. The company opposed the application to intervene, arguing that the agreement was fair and reasonable and that the intervener had no standing to challenge it.

The legal issues before the commission were whether the intervener had standing to intervene in the application and, if so, whether the agreement should be approved. The commission found that the intervener did have standing to intervene, as it represented employees who were likely to be affected by the agreement. The commission then considered the merits of the application, examining the terms of the agreement and the arguments of the parties. The commission found that the agreement was fair and reasonable, providing appropriate protections for employees and including effective dispute resolution mechanisms.

Accordingly, the commission approved the agreement. The intervener's application to intervene was allowed, but its argument that the agreement should not be approved was rejected. The final order of the commission was that the Newco Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2017 be approved as a registered agreement.

Newco Engineering Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established