DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2019/1458)

PROGRESS RAIL REDBANK MAINTENANCE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT KOVACIC	CANBERRA, 17 JULY 2019

Application for approval of the Progress Rail Redbank Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Progress Rail Redbank Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] As noted, pursuant to s.190(3), I have accepted undertakings from the employer. In accordance with s.191(1) of the Act the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertakings are attached to this decision.

[4] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), the Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 24 July 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 24 July 2022.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the recent case, Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the Progress Rail Redbank Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2019. The application was made before the Fair Work Commission, which oversees the approval of enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute involved the terms of the proposed agreement and whether they met the legal requirements for approval, including the need for the agreement to provide for fair and reasonable terms, to be free from coercion and undue influence, and to comply with any relevant modern awards.

The primary legal issues the Commission needed to address were whether the agreement contained terms that were fair and reasonable, and if it adhered to the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission examined whether the agreement provided for the appropriate minimum entitlements, including rates of pay, leave entitlements, and other employment conditions, and whether it contained any terms that could be considered coercive or otherwise contrary to the principles of the Act. The Commission also considered whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees' representatives.

In reaching its decision, the Commission reviewed the submissions made by both Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd and the relevant employee representatives. The Commission found that the agreement contained terms that were fair and reasonable, and it was not coercive or otherwise contrary to the principles of the Fair Work Act. The Commission also determined that the agreement provided for the appropriate minimum entitlements and was genuinely negotiated. Consequently, the Commission approved the application for the Progress Rail Redbank Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2019. This approval means that the agreement can now be registered and will become legally binding on the parties involved.

Progress Rail Australia 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