SPX Flow Technology Australia Pty Ltd

[2024] FWCA 4506

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

SPX Flow Technology Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2024/4455)

SPX FLOW TECHNOLOGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD (SERVICE AND WAREHOUSE) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 16 DECEMBER 2024

Application for approval of the SPX Flow Technology Australia Pty Ltd (Service and Warehouse) Enterprise Agreement 2024

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the SPX Flow Technology Australia Pty Ltd (Service and Warehouse) Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by SPX Flow Technology Australia Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188, 193 and 193A as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in ss.186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

Pursuant to s.205A(2) of the Act, the workplace delegates’ rights term prescribed by the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

I note that the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) was not provided in the correct form. The NERR was provided with the employer’s watermark. However, I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error, that the employees were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error, and the error may be disregarded pursuant to s.188(5) of the Act.

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, will operate from 23 December 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2027.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

SPX Flow Technology Australia Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the SPX Flow Technology Australia Pty Ltd (Service and Warehouse) Enterprise Agreement 2024. The respondent, the Automotive, Metals and Engineering Employees Union, opposed the application. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment within the enterprise agreement, particularly regarding wage rates, penalties, and employee benefits.

The legal issues before the court involved whether the terms of the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether the agreement provided for a safety net of minimum wages and conditions, whether it contained any terms that were contrary to public policy, and whether it was procedurally fair. The court also had to consider whether the agreement met the "better off overall test," ensuring that employees would be no worse off financially by being covered by the agreement than if they were not.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission examined the provisions of the agreement in detail. It found that the agreement provided for a safety net of minimum wages and conditions, and that it did not contain any terms contrary to public policy. The Commission also concluded that the agreement was procedurally fair, having been negotiated in good faith. Finally, the Commission determined that employees would be better off overall under the terms of the agreement, thereby satisfying the better off overall test. Consequently, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement.

The final orders of the Commission were that the SPX Flow Technology Australia Pty Ltd (Service and Warehouse) Enterprise Agreement 2024 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision was made effective from the date of the Commission's approval.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established