DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

RACWA Holdings Pty Ltd T/A RAC
(AG2019/1582)

RAC SUPPORT SERVICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Clerical industry
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS	PERTH, 7 JUNE 2019

Application for approval of the RAC Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the RAC Support Services 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 RACWA Holdings Pty Ltd T/A RAC. 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 Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 14 June 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 29 June 2022.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

RACWA Holdings Pty Ltd, trading as RAC, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the RAC Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2019. The respondents to the application were the Transport Workers Union of Australia and the Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union. The nature of the dispute was the procedural fairness of the bargaining process that led to the agreement and whether it complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, which is an independent statutory tribunal established under the Fair Work Act.

The legal issues that the Fair Work Commission was required to decide were whether the bargaining process was conducted in good faith and whether the agreement was made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The respondents argued that the bargaining process was not conducted in good faith because RAC had made significant changes to the proposed agreement after the parties had reached an agreement in principle. They also argued that the agreement did not comply with the requirements of the Fair Work Act because it did not provide for proper consultation and did not adequately address the interests of the employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the bargaining process was conducted in good faith and that the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission noted that the parties had engaged in extensive negotiations and had reached an agreement in principle before RAC made changes to the proposed agreement. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for proper consultation and adequately addressed the interests of the employees. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was made in a manner that was consistent with the principles of procedural fairness and the requirements of the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission approved the RAC Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2019. The Commission found that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and that it provided for a fair and reasonable outcome for both the employer and the employees. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for a range of benefits for the employees, including wage increases, improved working conditions, and better access to training and development opportunities. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement would promote harmonious, productive and cooperative workplace relations and that it would contribute to the economic prosperity of the parties and the community.

RACWA Holdings Pty Ltd T/A RAC

DECISION

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