DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Ruffin Hydraulics Pty Ltd
(AG2015/1413)

RUFFIN HYDRAULICS METAL ENGINEERING WORKSHOP AND SITE AGREEMENT 2014 - 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 19 JUNE 2015

Application for approval of the Ruffin Hydraulics Metal Engineering Workshop and Site Agreement 2014 - 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Ruffin Hydraulics Metal Engineering Workshop and Site Agreement 2014 - 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Ruffin Hydraulics Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The consultation term of the enterprise agreement does not meet the requirements of s.205(1) and (1A) of the Fair Work Act as amended as from 1 January 2014. Therefore in accordance with the requirement of s.205(2) of the Act the model consultation clause which is set out in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations is taken to be a term of the agreement in lieu of clause 42. The model consultation clause is attached at Appendix A.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] 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. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 26 June 2015.The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 March 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ruffin Hydraulics Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of a Metal Engineering Workshop and Site Agreement 2014-2017. The applicant was a small business, and the proposed agreement was an enterprise agreement, designed to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for its employees. The dispute centred around whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement satisfied the minimum requirements for an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act and whether it was appropriately negotiated. The Commission needed to determine if the agreement was in writing, contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions, and had been genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees or their representatives.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met the statutory requirements of an enterprise agreement. It was in writing and contained all the minimum terms and conditions prescribed by the Fair Work Act. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated, as evidenced by the submissions and the process followed. The agreement was approved, and the Fair Work Commission certified it as a valid enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Metal Engineering Workshop and Site Agreement 2014-2017 and certified it as a valid enterprise agreement. This decision allows the agreement to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for the employees of Ruffin Hydraulics Pty Ltd for the period specified in the agreement.

Ruffin Hydraulics 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