DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Tasmanian Water & Sewage Corporation Pty Ltd T/A TasWater
(AG2018/3305)

TASWATER GENERAL EMPLOYEES (SOUTHERN REGION) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Water, sewerage and drainage services
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 7 NOVEMBER 2018

Application for approval of the TasWater General Employees (Southern Region) Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the TasWater General Employees (Southern Region) Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Tasmanian Water & Sewage Corporation Pty Ltd T/A TasWater. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 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), the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, The Australian Workers’ Union, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, and the Community and Public Sector Union being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 14 November 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Tasmanian Water and Sewage Corporation Pty Ltd, trading as TasWater, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the TasWater General Employees (Southern Region) Enterprise Agreement 2018. The application was brought under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicants were TasWater, and the respondents included various unions representing the employees. The dispute centred around the terms and conditions of employment set out in the proposed enterprise agreement and whether they complied with the statutory requirements of the Fair Work Act.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the proposed agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Fair Work Act, whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it provided for a proper process for resolving disputes. Additionally, the Commission had to consider if the agreement complied with the 'better off overall test', ensuring that employees were not worse off financially under the new agreement compared to their previous conditions.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement met all the mandatory requirements of the Fair Work Act, including the inclusion of all prescribed terms. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was made in good faith and that it provided adequate processes for resolving disputes. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the agreement passed the 'better off overall test'. Consequently, the Commission approved the TasWater General Employees (Southern Region) Enterprise Agreement 2018.

The final orders of the Commission were that the TasWater General Employees (Southern Region) Enterprise Agreement 2018 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered and would come into effect from the date of the Commission's approval.

Tasmanian Water & Sewage Corporation Pty Ltd T/A TasWater

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established