Western Australian Specialty Alloys Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 78

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Western Australian Specialty Alloys Pty Ltd
(AG2013/12228)

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN SPECIALTY ALLOYS PTY LTD FOUNDRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 6 JANUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Western Australian Specialty Alloys Pty Ltd Foundry Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Western Australian Specialty Alloys Pty Ltd Foundry Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Western Australian Specialty Alloys 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 Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia 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, will operate from 13 January 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 6 February 2016.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Western Australian Specialty Alloys Pty Ltd was the subject of an application seeking approval of the Western Australian Specialty Alloys Pty Ltd Foundry Enterprise Agreement 2013. The applicant was the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. The respondent was Western Australian Specialty Alloys Pty Ltd. The dispute was heard by the Fair Work Commission, presided over by Deputy President C. J. Richardson. The Commission was required to determine whether the agreement met the requirements of section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable rate of pay, minimum terms and conditions, and procedural fairness in its creation.

The key issue was whether the agreement was genuinely a product of the bargaining process, as required by section 230 of the Act. The applicant argued that the agreement was not genuinely bargained for because the employer had exerted undue influence over the bargaining process. The respondent, on the other hand, argued that the agreement was the result of genuine bargaining and that the employer had not engaged in any unfair labour practices. The Commission needed to consider the evidence and submissions from both parties to determine the genuineness of the bargaining process.

The Commission found that the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining and was not the result of undue influence by the employer. The evidence showed that the parties had engaged in a process of give and take, and that the agreement reflected a compromise between the parties. The Commission also found that the employer had acted in good faith throughout the bargaining process and had not engaged in any unfair labour practices. Accordingly, the Commission approved the agreement as meeting the requirements of section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Western Australian Specialty Alloys Pty Ltd Foundry Enterprise Agreement 2013 be approved as a registered agreement under section 176 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered and published in accordance with section 178 of the Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established