DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Northwest Aviation Services Pty Ltd
(AG2018/5558)

NORTHWEST AVIATION SERVICES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018 SOUTH WEST LAND DIVISION (SWLD)

Airline operations
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 30 MAY 2019

Application for approval of the Northwest Aviation Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018 South West Land Division (SWLD).

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Northwest Aviation Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018 South West Land Division (SWLD) (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Northwest Aviation Services Pty Ltd. 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, 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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 6 June 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Northwest Aviation Services Pty Ltd (NWA) applied for approval of their Enterprise Agreement 2018 with the South West Land Division (SWLD) of the Australian Services Union (ASU). The dispute arose as the SWLD claimed that NWA had failed to comply with certain provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, which governs the approval of enterprise agreements in Australia. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) was the court in which this application was heard.

The primary legal issue before the FWC was whether NWA had complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 for the approval of enterprise agreements. Specifically, the SWLD argued that NWA had not properly notified employees of the proposed agreement and had not allowed a sufficient period for employees to consider the agreement before voting. Additionally, the SWLD contended that NWA had failed to provide relevant information to employees, including details about the proposed changes to their conditions of employment.

The FWC found that NWA had not complied with several key provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The FWC held that NWA had not adequately notified employees of the proposed agreement and had not provided sufficient time for employees to consider the agreement before voting. The FWC also found that NWA had failed to provide employees with all relevant information about the proposed changes to their conditions of employment. The FWC determined that these failures meant that the agreement could not be approved.

The FWC refused to approve the Northwest Aviation Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018. The FWC found that the failures of NWA to comply with the Fair Work Act 2009 meant that the agreement could not be approved. The FWC noted that the approval of enterprise agreements was a critical process to ensure that employees were properly informed and had an opportunity to consider proposed changes to their conditions of employment. The FWC held that NWA's failures in this regard meant that the agreement could not be approved, and it refused the application for approval.

Northwest Aviation Services 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