Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd T/A PMB Defence - Batteries - [2022] FWCA 595

[2022] FWCA 595

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd T/A PMB Defence - Batteries

(AG2022/251)

Pacific Marine Batteries Collective Agreement 2022

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER PLATT	ADELAIDE, 22 FEBRUARY 2022

Application for approval of the Pacific Marine Batteries Collective Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Pacific Marine Batteries Collective Agreement 2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd T/A PMB Defence – Batteries (the Applicant). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 18 February 2022 and was determined on the papers.

The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 21 February 2022. The undertaking deals with the following topics:

· The Applicant has provided a National Employment Standards (NES) precedence undertaking.

· When taking personal/carer’s leave employees are required to notify the employer as soon as practicable (which may be a time after the leave has started).

· A casual employee will be entitled to two days of compassionate leave in the event an employee’s immediate family has an illness or injury which threatens life or dies, a child that would be part of the immediate family is stillborn, or the employee’s spouse or de facto partner has a miscarriage.

· In order to reduce an employee’s redundancy pay as a result of finding other acceptable employment, the employer must make an application to the Commission as per s.120 of the Act.

· Employees who have been deemed to have abandoned their employment will be entitled to notice in accordance with the NES.

· The employer and an employee may agree on the substitution of a day or part day for a day or part day that would otherwise be a public holiday.

· Apprentices and trainees are not covered by the Agreement.

A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representatives and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representatives did not express any view on the undertaking.

The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

As the Agreement does not contain a consultation term which meets the requirements of s.205 of the Act, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

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. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days after the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 13 January 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd, trading as PMB Defence - Batteries, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Pacific Marine Batteries Collective Agreement 2022. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment for the company’s workers, particularly the scope of the agreement and its compliance with relevant legislative requirements. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the necessary standards for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the collective agreement adequately covered the essential terms of employment, including rates of pay, classification of roles, and other employment conditions, and whether it complied with the statutory requirements for a modern award. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement appropriately balanced the interests of both employers and employees and adhered to the principles of procedural fairness and good faith bargaining.

After examining the evidence and submissions from both parties, the Fair Work Commission found that the collective agreement substantially met the statutory requirements. The Commission determined that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment, including appropriate rates of pay and job classifications. Furthermore, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining and complied with procedural fairness and good faith principles. Consequently, the Commission approved the Pacific Marine Batteries Collective Agreement 2022.

The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the collective agreement, which is now to be applied to the employees of Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd, trading as PMB Defence - Batteries. The agreement will serve as the primary document governing the terms and conditions of employment for the duration of its validity, subject to any future negotiations or variations under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Pacific Marine Batteries Pty Ltd T/A PMB Defence - Batteries

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established