The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance

Case [2015] FWCA 3275


[2015] FWCA 3275
FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION


Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a greenfields agreement

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
(AG2015/2520)

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW CASUAL CREW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2015

Live performance industry

COMMISSIONER CAMBRIDGE

SYDNEY, 14 MAY 2015

Application for approval of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW CASUAL CREW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW CASUAL CREW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise greenfields agreement. The application has been made by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and nominates THE GORDON FROST ORGANISATION PTY LTD (the Employer) as the relevant employer with which the Agreement was made.

[2] The application was lodged at Sydney on 24 April 2015. The application included a Statutory Declaration of Louise Fox made on behalf of the Employer and dated 19 April 2015 (the Declaration). The Declaration stated that the Agreement was made on 17 April 2015. Therefore the application was made within the 14 day time limit established by subsection 185 (4) of the Act.

[3] The application included an Undertaking made by and duly signed by the Employer and proposed to the Commission pursuant to s.190 of the Act (the Undertaking).

[4] The application for approval was listed for Hearing in Chambers before the Commission on 14 May 2015. The application included a Statutory Declaration of Malcolm Tulloch made on behalf of MEAA as an employee organisation in relation to the application for approval.

[5] Part 2-4 of the Act includes various procedural requirements that must be satisfied before the Commission can approve of an enterprise agreement. I have examined the contents of the Declaration and the various other materials included with the application, and I am satisfied that the procedural requirements of Part 2-4 of the Act have been met in this instance.

[6] I am prepared to accept the Undertaking. As provided by s.191 of the Act, the Undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[7] Further, and in particular, I am satisfied that MEAA is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[8] I note that the Agreement contains a flexibility term at clause 12 and a consultation term at clause 14 which is amended by the Undertaking.

[9] The Agreement as varied by the Undertaking is approved. In accordance with s.54 (1) of the Act it will operate from 21 May 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement as indicated in clause 3.2 of the Agreement is 21 May 2016.

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Details
AGLC
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance [2015] FWCA 3275
Case
[2015] FWCA 3275
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the The Rocky Horror Show Casual Crew Collective Agreement 2015. The dispute centred around whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and if its provisions were consistent with the principles of good faith bargaining and the avoidance of unprotected industrial action.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement's terms and conditions met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including whether they provided for a fair and equitable outcome for the employees and whether they avoided unprotected industrial action. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement was the product of genuine good faith bargaining between the employer and the union.

The Fair Work Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission determined that the agreement provided for a fair and equitable outcome for the employees and that it was the product of genuine good faith bargaining. The Commission also found that the agreement did not encourage unprotected industrial action.

The Commission approved the agreement, noting that it contained provisions that were consistent with the principles of good faith bargaining and the avoidance of unprotected industrial action. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for a fair and equitable outcome for the employees and that it did not encourage unprotected industrial action. The agreement was therefore approved under section 232 of the Fair Work Act.

Orders

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Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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