DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

O & A Volarevic Group Pty Ltd T/A Insta Scaff & Truck Hire
(AG2017/3506)

INSTA SCAFF & TRUCK HIRE PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 4 OCTOBER 2017

Application for approval of the Insta Scaff & Truck Hire Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] On 11 August 2017 O & A Volarevic Group Pty Ltd T/A Insta Scaff & Truck Hire (Applicant) made an application for approval of the Insta Scaff & Truck Hire Pty Ltd Enterprise 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.

[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 Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 11 October 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 11 October 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, O & A Volarevic Group Pty Ltd trading as Insta Scaff & Truck Hire, sought approval of an enterprise agreement. The applicant is a small business engaged in the scaffolding and truck hire industry. The agreement was negotiated with a union representing the applicant's employees. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the applicant needed to demonstrate that the agreement was made in good faith, was free from coercion and that it provided for the terms and conditions of employment of the employees covered by the agreement.

The key legal issues were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act. The applicant had to prove that the union and the employer had genuinely bargained over the terms of the agreement. The union argued that the employer had not engaged in good faith bargaining and that some of the terms in the agreement were not genuinely negotiated. The court had to examine the evidence and determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated in good faith and contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act. The Commission was satisfied that the applicant had engaged in genuine bargaining with the union and that the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable. The Commission found that the applicant had met the burden of proof required to approve the agreement. The union's arguments were dismissed, and the application for approval was successful. The agreement was approved, and the parties were bound by its terms.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Insta Scaff & Truck Hire Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2017 be approved as a registered agreement under section 171 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered by the Commission and would be in effect from the date of the decision. The Commission also ordered that the agreement be published on its website and made available to the public. The decision was final and binding on both parties.

O & A Volarevic Group Pty Ltd T/A Insta Scaff & Truck Hire

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established