DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Race Industries Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7778)

RACE INDUSTRIES PTY. LTD. ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014-2018

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 5 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Race Industries Pty. Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2014 -2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Race Industries Pty. Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2014 -2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Race Industries Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 5 December 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 12 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 4 December 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved an application by the Fair Work Ombudsman for approval of an enterprise agreement between Race Industries Pty Ltd and its employees. The application was brought in the Fair Work Commission, Australia’s workplace relations tribunal. The dispute centred on whether the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in relation to the process by which it was made and the extent to which it provided for fair terms and conditions of employment.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to decide included whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, whether it contained only matters that were genuinely negotiable, and whether the agreement provided for fair terms and conditions of employment. The Fair Work Ombudsman argued that certain provisions of the agreement were not genuinely negotiated and did not provide for fair terms and conditions, while Race Industries Pty Ltd contended that the agreement was valid and complied with all statutory requirements.

The Fair Work Commission found that while the majority of the agreement was genuinely negotiated and contained fair terms and conditions, several provisions did not meet the statutory criteria. The Commission held that certain provisions were not genuinely negotiated as they were unilaterally imposed by the employer. Additionally, the Commission determined that some of the terms did not provide for fair terms and conditions, as they disadvantaged certain employees. As a result, the Commission made orders to disallow specific provisions of the agreement and approved the remainder, subject to certain conditions designed to ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act.

The final orders of the Commission included the disallowance of certain provisions of the enterprise agreement that were not genuinely negotiated or did not provide for fair terms and conditions. The remainder of the agreement was approved, with conditions attached to ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act. The parties were required to comply with these orders within a specified timeframe.

Race Industries 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