Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation

[2014] FWCA 6528

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation
(AG2014/8851)

WHITEHORSE MANNINGHAM REGIONAL LIBRARY CORPORATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Local government administration
COMMISSIONER BISSETT	MELBOURNE, 17 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation. 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 Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, 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(1) of the Act, will operate from 24 September 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission was an application by the Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation for the approval of the Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation Enterprise Agreement 2014. The dispute arose from negotiations between the employer and the employees represented by the Public Library Officers Association of Victoria. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the legal criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements set out in the Act. Procedurally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether the necessary steps were taken to ensure that the employees had an opportunity to be involved in the negotiation process. Substantively, the Commission examined whether the agreement provided for terms and conditions of employment that were fair and reasonable, and whether it contained any provisions that were contrary to public policy or industrial law.

After reviewing the evidence and submissions from both parties, the Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and that the negotiation process was fair and transparent. The Commission also determined that the agreement provided for terms and conditions of employment that were fair and reasonable and did not contain any provisions that were contrary to public policy or industrial law. The Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met all the legal requirements for approval under the Act.

The Commission made an order approving the Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation Enterprise Agreement 2014, subject to the terms and conditions set out in the decision. The agreement is now legally binding on the employer and the employees, and it will remain in force until it is replaced by a new agreement or terminated in accordance with the Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established