Programmed Facility Management Pty Ltd Summary

[2022] FWCA 2036

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Programmed Facility Management Pty Ltd

(AG2022/1602)

Programmed Facility Management Melbourne Water AMWU Mechanical and Field Services Agreement 2022

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 21 JUNE 2022

Application for approval of the Programmed Facility Management Melbourne Water AMWU Mechanical and Field Services Agreement 2022

Programmed Facility Management Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of a greenfields agreement known as the Programmed Facility Management Melbourne Water AMWU Mechanical and Field Services Agreement 2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act).

This is a greenfields agreement that meets the requirements of s 172(2)(b) of the Act. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186 and 187 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. In accordance with s 187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

The Employer has requested that the Commission exercise the discretion available to it under s 586(a) of the Act to allow a correction or amendment to the proposed Agreement. The correction involves an amendment to clause 1.4 of the Agreement. The Employer submits that there was an error in clause 1.4 of the Agreement as to the nominal expiry date.

I am satisfied that it is appropriate for the Commission to exercise the discretion available to it to correct the Agreement on the basis that the correction is administrative in nature only, and simply to ensure the Agreement accurately reflects what was agreed to and approved by the parties and the employees who voted to approve the Agreement.

The Employer has provided a revised copy of the Agreement that contains the amended correction. It will now be published on the Commission’s website in place of the copy that was submitted to the Commission at the time the application was made.

The Employer has provided a written undertaking. A copy of the undertaking is attached in Annexure A. In accordance with s.191(2) of the Act, the undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Agreement was made with the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and pursuant to s 53(2)(b) of the Act I not that the Agreement covers this organisation.

The Agreement was approved on 21 June 2022 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 28 June 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

Programmed Facility Management Pty Ltd sought approval for the Programmed Facility Management Melbourne Water AMWU Mechanical and Field Services Agreement 2022. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred around the terms and conditions set out in the proposed agreement, which would govern the employment of workers under the agreement.

The legal issues before the Commission involved whether the terms of the proposed agreement were fair and reasonable in all respects, and whether they complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission was required to consider the balance of the agreement, including its provisions on wages, hours of work, and other conditions, and to determine whether it met the requirements for approval under the Act.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement was fair and reasonable in all respects. It noted that the agreement provided for a reasonable balance of rights and obligations for both employers and employees, and that it contained provisions that were consistent with the objectives of the Act. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Act, and accordingly approved it. The Commission also noted that it had taken into account the views of relevant stakeholders, including the parties to the agreement, in making its decision.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Programmed Facility Management Melbourne Water AMWU Mechanical and Field Services Agreement 2022, finding that it was fair and reasonable in all respects and complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement will now govern the employment of workers under the agreement, subject to any further orders the Commission may make.

Programmed Facility Management Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

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Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established