DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

TAE Gas Turbines Pty Ltd
(AG2019/4467)

TAE GAS TURBINES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 4 FEBRUARY 2020

Application for approval of the TAE Gas Turbines Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the TAE Gas Turbines Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by TAE Gas Turbines Pty Ltd (the Applicant).

[2] The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[3] Mr Rohan Webb, Queensland State Secretary of the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration supporting approval of the Agreement and giving notice under s.183 of the Act that the AMWU wants the Agreement to cover it.

[4] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Appendix A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[6] In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note the Agreement covers the AMWU.

[7] The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Appendix A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission was an application by TAE Gas Turbines Pty Ltd for the approval of the TAE Gas Turbines Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019. The application was made pursuant to section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondents to the application were the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union and the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. The dispute centred on whether the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the provisions of the Act, including the requirements for good faith bargaining and the provisions relating to the terms and conditions of employment.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the proposed agreement provided for the appropriate process for the resolution of disputes between the employer and employees, whether the agreement met the requirements for direct and meaningful consultation with employees, and whether the agreement contained appropriate mechanisms for the review and amendment of the agreement. The Commission also considered whether the agreement contained terms and conditions that were consistent with the relevant award and whether it provided for appropriate protections for employees, including provisions relating to redundancy, termination, and workplace health and safety.

In delivering its decision, the Commission noted that the parties had engaged in a genuine process of bargaining and consultation in the development of the proposed agreement. The Commission found that the agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of disputes between the employer and employees, and that the agreement contained provisions for direct and meaningful consultation with employees. The Commission also found that the agreement contained appropriate mechanisms for the review and amendment of the agreement and that it provided for terms and conditions that were consistent with the relevant award. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for appropriate protections for employees, including provisions relating to redundancy, termination, and workplace health and safety.

The Commission approved the TAE Gas Turbines Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019, subject to the imposition of certain conditions, including a requirement for the parties to provide the Commission with a report on the operation of the agreement within six months of its commencement.

TAE Gas Turbines Pty Ltd

DECISION

Appendix A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established