SITA Australia No. 1 Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 3019

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

SITA Australia No. 1 Pty Ltd
(AG2014/799)

SITA NO.1 ENGINEERING TRADES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT DRAKE	SYDNEY, 7 MAY 2014

Application for approval of the SITA No.1 Engineering Trades Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the SITA No.1 Engineering Trades Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by SITA Australia No.1 Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

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

[4] The Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers that organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s54 of the Act, will operate from 14 May 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 October 2016.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties to the application before the Fair Work Commission were SITA Australia No. 1 Pty Ltd and the Transport Workers Union of Australia. The dispute centred on the application for approval of the SITA No. 1 Engineering Trades Enterprise Agreement 2013. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, with Deputy President M. M. G. Campbell presiding.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to decide included whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether the agreement provided for the registration of the agreement with the Fair Work Commission and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining provisions of the Act. Additionally, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and if it complied with the provisions of the Act concerning minimum wages and conditions.

In delivering the decision, the Deputy President noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and met the requirements for approval under the Act. The agreement provided for the registration with the Fair Work Commission and was in the best interests of the employees. The Deputy President found that the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining provisions of the Act and that the parties had made a genuine attempt to reach an agreement. The Deputy President also found that the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Act concerning minimum wages and conditions.

The Fair Work Commission approved the SITA No. 1 Engineering Trades Enterprise Agreement 2013, subject to certain modifications to ensure compliance with the Act. The modifications included the addition of specific provisions concerning minimum wages and conditions and the inclusion of a clause providing for the registration of the agreement with the Fair Work Commission. The Commission determined that the modifications did not significantly alter the agreement and that the agreement remained in the best interests of the employees.

SITA Australia No. 1 Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established