DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Pegasus Print Group Pty Ltd T/A Pegasus Print Group
(AG2017/2290)

PEGASUS PRINT GROUP ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Graphic Arts
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 22 AUGUST 2017

Application for approval of the Pegasus Print Group Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] On 16 June 2017 Pegasus Print Group Pty Ltd T/A Pegasus Print Group (Applicant) made an application for approval of the Pegasus Print Group 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 “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), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 29 August 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 29 August 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved a dispute between Pegasus Print Group Pty Ltd, trading as Pegasus Print Group, and its employees, represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. The crux of the dispute was the application for the approval of the Pegasus Print Group Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was brought under the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking the Commission's endorsement of the enterprise agreement as meeting the requirements for being a "certified agreement."

The primary legal issues that the Commission had to address were whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act. Procedurally, the Commission needed to ensure that the agreement was negotiated in good faith, with appropriate employee representation, and that proper consultation had occurred. Substantively, the Commission had to ascertain that the agreement did not include terms that were contrary to public policy or otherwise unenforceable.

The Commission found that the agreement was indeed negotiated in good faith, with evidence of adequate consultation and appropriate representation. The agreement also met all the necessary procedural requirements, including the use of a certified agreement process. Furthermore, the substantive terms of the agreement were considered to be fair and reasonable, with no elements that contravened public policy or were otherwise unenforceable. Given these findings, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement, ensuring its certification and implementation in accordance with the statutory framework.

Pegasus Print Group Pty Ltd T/A Pegasus Print Group

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established