DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2015/2207)

AMWU AND THE PACIFIC HVAC ENGINEERING PTY LTD COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WORKSHOP AGREEMENT 2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 25 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the AMWU and the Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AMWU and the Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 1 April 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd, an employer, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), a trade union. The dispute centred on the approval of the Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2015. The AMWU had applied for the agreement to be made a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. This required the agreement to meet specific criteria, including that it be in writing, cover employees, be made by an employer and a union, and provide for matters not prohibited by the Act.

The primary legal issues the court had to decide were whether the agreement was in writing, whether it was made by the employer and the union, whether it covered employees, and whether it provided for matters that were not prohibited by the Act. Additionally, the court had to assess whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether the process for its making complied with the requirements of the Act. These issues were critical in determining whether the agreement could be registered as a certified agreement.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was in writing and had been made by the employer and the union. The court also confirmed that the agreement covered employees of Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd and provided for matters that were not prohibited by the Fair Work Act 2009. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the agreement had been made in good faith and that the process for its making complied with the Act. Given these findings, the Commission approved the application for the agreement to be registered as a certified agreement.

As a result, the Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Workshop Agreement 2015 was approved and registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision ensured that the terms and conditions of the agreement would be legally enforceable and would govern the employment relationship between Pacific HVAC Engineering Pty Ltd and its employees as represented by the AMWU. The registration of the agreement provided certainty and stability to the parties involved, reflecting the Commission's commitment to facilitating fair and effective workplace agreements.

Pacific HVAC 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