DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Otis Elevator Company Pty Ltd
(AG2019/1433)

OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY PTY LTD (VICTORIA) - CONSTRUCTION & SERVICE EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 27 JUNE 2019

Application for approval of the Otis Elevator Company Pty Ltd (Victoria) - Construction & Service Employees Enterprise Agreement 2019

[1] Otis Elevator Company Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Otis Elevator Company Pty Ltd (Victoria) - Construction & Service Employees Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). 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] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, has given notice under s 183 of the Act that they seek to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s 201(2) and based on the statutory declarations provided by these organisations, I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 27 June 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 4 July 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this case were Otis Elevator Company Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The dispute centered on the approval of a proposed enterprise agreement, specifically the Otis Elevator Company Pty Ltd (Victoria) - Construction & Service Employees Enterprise Agreement 2019. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether to approve the agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issue for the Commission to decide was whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. This included whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it provided for terms and conditions that were not less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act.

The Fair Work Commission determined that the proposed enterprise agreement did meet the criteria for approval. The Commission found that the agreement had been made in good faith and contained terms and conditions that were not less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award. Furthermore, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act. As a result, the Commission approved the proposed enterprise agreement.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission were that the Otis Elevator Company Pty Ltd (Victoria) - Construction & Service Employees Enterprise Agreement 2019 be approved as a registered agreement. This decision was made on the basis that the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act and was in the best interests of the employees covered by the agreement.

Otis Elevator Company 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