DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Stillwell Trucks Pty Ltd T/A Stillwell Trucks
(AG2020/2536)

STILLWELL TRUCKS WORKSHOP, PARTS & OPERATIONS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019-2021

Vehicle industry
COMMISSIONER HARPER-GREENWELL	MELBOURNE, 9 SEPTEMBER 2020

Application for approval of the Stillwell Trucks Workshop, Parts & Operations Enterprise Agreement 2019-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Stillwell Trucks Workshop, Parts & Operations Enterprise Agreement 2019-2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Stillwell Trucks Pty Ltd T/A Stillwell Trucks. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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 Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 9 September 2020 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 16 September 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Stillwell Trucks Pty Ltd, trading as Stillwell Trucks, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Stillwell Trucks Workshop, Parts & Operations Enterprise Agreement 2019-2021. The application was made under section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute arose due to disagreements between the company and its employees regarding the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Fair Work Act. Procedurally, the Commission had to determine if the agreement was genuinely bargained between the parties and if proper consultation processes were followed. Substantively, the Commission needed to ensure that the agreement did not adversely affect employees' conditions of employment and included appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met the procedural requirements as it was demonstrated to have been genuinely negotiated between the parties, and the consultation processes were adequate. The Commission also confirmed that the agreement did not adversely affect the employees' conditions of employment and included appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms. Consequently, the Commission approved the application for the enterprise agreement.

The final order of the Commission was that the Stillwell Trucks Workshop, Parts & Operations Enterprise Agreement 2019-2021 be approved as a registered agreement under section 178 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

Stillwell Trucks Pty Ltd T/A Stillwell Trucks

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established