Renron Victoria Pty Ltd Summary

[2024] FWCA 1328

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Renron Victoria Pty Ltd

(AG2024/1063)

AMWU & RENRON VICTORIA PTY LTD METAL & ENGINEERING ON-SITE CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT 2023 - 2026

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER ALLISON	MELBOURNE, 15 APRIL 2024

Application for approval of the AMWU & Renron Victoria Pty Ltd Metal & Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2023 - 2026

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AMWU & Renron Victoria Pty Ltd Metal & Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2023 - 2026 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Renron Victoria Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

I note that the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) that was issued to the employees was not on the current prescribed form. However, I am satisfied that this was a minor procedural or technical error and that the employees were not likely to have been disadvantaged by it. Accordingly, I exercise the discretion conferred by s.188(5) of the Act to disregard this error.

I note that clause 27 of the Agreement mentions trainees, but that the Agreement is otherwise silent on rates of pay for trainees. On 10 April 2024, I sought submissions from the parties in relation to this issue. The AMWU submits that the Applicant does not employ trainees, nor does it intend on employing trainees in the future, and that with reference to s.193A(6) of the Act, it is not reasonably foreseeable for trainees to be employed pursuant to this agreement. I accept this submission and am satisfied that trainees are not a reasonable foreseeably type of employment under the Agreement.
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.

The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) 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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 22 April 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2026.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Renron Victoria Pty Ltd recently sought approval of an enterprise agreement in the Fair Work Commission. The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) and Renron Victoria Pty Ltd had entered into a Metal & Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement for the period 2023 to 2026. The AMWU applied for the agreement to be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was opposed by the employer on the basis that the agreement did not comply with certain provisions of the Fair Work Act.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met all the statutory requirements for registration as a registered agreement. Specifically, the employer argued that the agreement did not contain the required "no-disadvantage" and "no-protected-action" undertakings, and did not comply with the prescribed form for enterprise agreements. The AMWU submitted that the agreement did in fact contain the required provisions and that the employer's objections were without merit.

In considering the application, the Commission noted that the agreement did contain the necessary "no-disadvantage" and "no-protected-action" undertakings, and was otherwise in the prescribed form. While there were minor technical issues, these did not detract from the overall validity of the agreement. The Commission determined that the agreement complied with the statutory requirements for registration and approved it as a registered agreement. The employer's objections were rejected.

The Commission approved the Metal & Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement as a registered agreement. The AMWU and Renron Victoria Pty Ltd may now proceed with the implementation of the agreement, which will govern the employment conditions of the relevant workers for the next three years.

Renron Victoria Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established