DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

The Austral Brick CO Pty Ltd T/A Austral Bricks NSW
(AG2018/5768)

AUSTRAL BRICKS NSW PRODUCTION WORKERS' ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 25 MARCH 2019

Application for approval of the Austral Bricks NSW Production Workers Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Austral Bricks NSW Production Workers 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 The Austral Brick Co Pty Ltd t/a Austral Bricks NSW. 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.

[3] The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union 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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 1 April 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 March 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) involved an application for the approval of the Austral Bricks NSW Production Workers Enterprise Agreement 2018. The applicant, The Austral Bricks CO Pty Ltd trading as Austral Bricks NSW, sought approval of the agreement which had been negotiated with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU). The AMWU represented the production workers employed by the company. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the FWC included whether the agreement contained all the prescribed terms and conditions and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining requirements. Additionally, the FWC needed to consider if the agreement met the "better off overall test" which requires that the employees be no worse off financially and have at least one improved term or condition of employment. The FWC also had to determine whether the agreement was consistent with the national workplace relations framework and did not discriminate against any group of employees.

The FWC found that the agreement contained all the prescribed terms and conditions and that the bargaining process was conducted in good faith. The Commission concluded that the agreement satisfied the better off overall test as it provided improvements in some terms and conditions without disadvantaging any employees. The FWC also determined that the agreement was consistent with the national workplace relations system and did not contain any discriminatory provisions. Consequently, the FWC approved the agreement.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Austral Bricks NSW Production Workers Enterprise Agreement 2018 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009, effective from the date of the decision.

The Austral Brick CO Pty Ltd T/A Austral Bricks NSW

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established