DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Western Work Force Pty Ltd
(AG2021/5491)

WWF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 5 JULY 2021

Application for variation of the WWF Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the WWF Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made by Western Work Force Pty Ltd pursuant to s 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application introduces various changes to the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] While the application is generally in order, the employees were not provided with the voting instructions 7 clear days before the vote. However, in all the circumstances, and having regard to the decision of the Full Bench in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others, 1 I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s 188(2)(a), and that the employees covered by the agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2) of the Act.

[4] The Applicant has provided written undertakings, a copy of which is attached in Annexure B. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any affected employee for the variation and that they will not result in substantial changes to the variation. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 211 and 212 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet concerns that particular requirements of ss 186 and 187 had not been met in relation to the application for approval of the Agreement. The undertakings were accepted and the Agreement was approved on 12 February 2020. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[7] Pursuant to s 202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 was taken to be a term of the Agreement. The model term forms part of the Agreement as varied.

[8] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[9] In accordance with s 216 of the Act, the variation operates from 5 July 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Western Work Force Pty Ltd, an employer, applied to the Fair Work Commission for a variation of the 2019 Enterprise Agreement. The applicant sought changes to the agreement to allow for a reduction in employee entitlements and an increase in work hours. The dispute was heard by the Fair Work Commission, a body with jurisdiction to oversee and resolve employment disputes in Australia.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the proposed changes were necessary for the employer's business operations, whether the changes were fair and reasonable, and whether the application complied with the statutory requirements. The court also needed to consider whether the changes would have a detrimental impact on the employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed changes were necessary for the employer's business operations and that the changes were fair and reasonable. The court determined that the application complied with the statutory requirements and that the changes would not have a detrimental impact on the employees. The court ultimately granted the application for variation of the Enterprise Agreement. As a result, the changes to employee entitlements and work hours were approved.

Western Work Force Pty Ltd

DECISION

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