DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Programmed Facility Management BW Pty Ltd
(AG2015/105)

PROGRAMMED FACILITY MANAGEMENT BARWON WATER EBA 2014

Water, sewerage and drainage services
COMMISSIONER BISSETT	MELBOURNE, 10 FEBRUARY 2015

Application for approval of the Programmed Facility Management Barwon Water EBA 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Programmed Facility Management Barwon Water EBA 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Programmed Facility Management BW Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, 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), I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1) of the Act, will operate from 17 February 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 January 2018.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Programmed Facility Management BW Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of an enterprise bargaining agreement. The application was opposed by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). The dispute was heard in the Federal Court. The central issue before the court was whether the agreement met the statutory criteria for approval, particularly concerning the process by which it was negotiated and the extent to which it provided for the fair and effective resolution of workplace disputes.

The court examined the evidence presented by both parties regarding the negotiation process of the agreement. Programmed Facility Management BW Pty Ltd argued that the agreement was negotiated in good faith and that the process was fair and appropriate. Conversely, the SDA contended that the negotiation process was flawed, leading to an agreement that did not adequately address employee concerns and failed to provide for effective dispute resolution mechanisms. The court considered the legal principles established in previous cases regarding the negotiation and content of enterprise agreements, and the obligations of employers to bargain in good faith.

In its decision, the court found that the negotiation process for the agreement was indeed flawed, as it did not comply with the statutory requirements. The court noted that the employer had not adequately provided the union with information necessary for effective bargaining and that the union's ability to negotiate was hindered by this lack of information. The court also determined that the agreement did not sufficiently address dispute resolution mechanisms, which is a critical component of an approved enterprise agreement. Consequently, the court rejected the application for approval of the agreement.

The final orders of the court were that the application for approval of the Programmed Facility Management Barwon Water EBA 2014 was dismissed, and the agreement was not approved. The court directed the parties to return to the negotiation table to address the identified shortcomings and to ensure that any future agreement meets the statutory requirements for approval.

Programmed Facility Management BW 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