Titan Wheels Australia Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 1867

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Titan Wheels Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2013/578)

TITAN WHEELS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED AND THE AMWU ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER GOOLEY	MELBOURNE, 26 MARCH 2013

Application for approval of the Titan Wheels Australia Pty Limited and the AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Titan Wheels Australia Pty Limited and the AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Titan Wheels Australia Pty Ltd. 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 application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 25 March 2013 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 1 April 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union lodged an application for the approval of the Titan Wheels Australia Pty Limited and the AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2012. Titan Wheels Australia Pty Ltd opposed the application, contending that the agreement did not meet the "better off overall test" as outlined in the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the proposed changes in the enterprise agreement would ensure employees were at least as well off, financially and in terms of conditions, as they would be under the applicable award.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the enterprise agreement complied with section 236 of the Fair Work Act, which mandates that a new agreement must not result in employees being worse off overall than they would be under their existing conditions. The Commission examined the proposed changes in wages, conditions, and other entitlements to determine if they met the threshold of not diminishing the employees' overall financial and working condition status. A secondary issue involved the interpretation of "better off overall" in the context of the specific provisions of the enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission, after reviewing the evidence and submissions from both parties, determined that the proposed enterprise agreement did indeed meet the "better off overall test". The Commission found that the changes proposed in the agreement provided employees with increased wages, improved working conditions, and additional benefits that outweighed any potential disadvantages. The Commission's decision was based on a detailed analysis of the financial and non-financial terms of the agreement, concluding that the employees would be better off overall with the new enterprise agreement than under their existing award conditions. Consequently, the application for approval of the enterprise agreement was approved.

The final order of the Fair Work Commission was that the Titan Wheels Australia Pty Limited and the AMWU Enterprise Agreement 2012 be approved as a registered agreement under section 171 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to commence on the date of the Commission's decision and would apply to all employees covered by the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established