DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Regional Express Holdings Ltd T/A Regional Express Airlines
(AG2016/5424)

REGIONAL EXPRESS AIRCRAFT ENGINEERS AGREEMENT 2014-2018

Airline operations
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 11 NOVEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Regional Express Aircraft Engineers Agreement 2014-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Regional Express Aircraft Engineers 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 Regional Express Holdings Ltd T/A Regional Express Airlines. 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] The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 18 November 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by Regional Express Holdings Ltd, trading as Regional Express Airlines, for approval of the Regional Express Aircraft Engineers Agreement 2014-2018. The applicant sought to have the agreement registered by the Commission under the Fair Work Act 2009, which would allow it to operate as a single-employer enterprise agreement for a period of four years. The application was contested by the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, who argued that the proposed agreement did not meet the requirements for approval under the Act.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement complied with the formal requirements for registration, and whether it met the standards for good faith bargaining and the protection of employee rights. Specifically, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties, whether it contained the required minimum terms and conditions, and whether it provided adequate protections for employees, particularly in relation to redundancy and other termination provisions.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement did not meet the requirements for registration. The Commission held that the applicant had not demonstrated that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated in good faith, as required by the Act. The applicant had not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that it had engaged in meaningful negotiations with the Association, and had instead relied on a series of unilateral proposals. Additionally, the Commission found that the agreement did not provide adequate protections for employees, particularly in relation to redundancy provisions. The Commission held that the proposed agreement did not meet the standards for good faith bargaining and the protection of employee rights, and therefore could not be approved.

The Commission refused to approve the proposed agreement, and ordered that the application be dismissed. The Commission noted that the applicant had an opportunity to resubmit an agreement that complied with the requirements of the Act, but that any future agreement would need to demonstrate genuine negotiation and provide adequate protections for employees. The Commission did not make any further orders in relation to the matter.

Regional Express Holdings Ltd T/A Regional Express Airlines

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established