DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

U.S.I. Pty Ltd
(AG2014/11002)

USI PTY LTD AND AMWU GEELONG AREA AGREEMENT 2014-2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 6 JANUARY 2015

Application for approval of the USI Pty Ltd and AMWU Geelong Area Agreement 2014-2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the USI Pty Ltd and AMWU Geelong Area Agreement 2014-2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by U.S.I. Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] 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. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 13 January 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, U.S.I. Pty Ltd applied for approval of the USI Pty Ltd and AMWU Geelong Area Agreement 2014-2017. The applicant was a civil construction company that had entered into an enterprise agreement with the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU). The AMWU Geelong Area represented the applicant's employees. The dispute centred around the procedural fairness of the agreement and whether it complied with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the agreement was made in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, specifically sections 227 and 228, and whether the process of approving the agreement was procedurally fair. The court had to determine if the AMWU had adequately represented the employees and whether the agreement was made without any coercion or undue influence. Furthermore, the court had to consider if the agreement contained all the necessary provisions as required by the Act.

The court found that the agreement was made in accordance with the Fair Work Act, and the AMWU had adequately represented the employees. The court also found that the agreement was procedurally fair and that no undue influence or coercion was involved in its making. The court determined that the agreement contained all the necessary provisions as required by the Act. Consequently, the court approved the USI Pty Ltd and AMWU Geelong Area Agreement 2014-2017.

The court ordered the approval of the agreement, subject to the conditions that the applicant provide a copy of the agreement to the Commission within 14 days of the order and that the agreement be registered with the Fair Work Commission. The court also ordered that the agreement be published on the Commission's website. The AMWU and U.S.I. Pty Ltd were directed to take all necessary steps to give effect to the approved agreement.

U.S.I. Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established