DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Wild Company Pty Ltd
(AG2018/6699)

WILD COMPANY PTY LTD EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2018 - 2022

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 7 JUNE 2019

Application for variation of the Wild Company Pty Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2018 - 2022.

[1] Application has been made for approval of a variation to the Wild Company Pty Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2018 - 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made by Wild Company Pty Ltd pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure B. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[4] With the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory 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.

[5] 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 24 May 2016. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

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

[7] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 7 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Wild Company Pty Ltd was the applicant in a matter before the Fair Work Commission. The company sought a variation to the Employee Collective Agreement 2018-2022, which governed the terms and conditions of employment for its workforce. The respondents to the application were the unions representing the employees, who opposed the proposed changes. The central issue before the Commission was whether the changes sought by Wild Company Pty Ltd were justifiable under the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues that the Commission had to address included whether the proposed changes were necessary to ensure the company's ongoing viability, whether the changes were reasonable in the circumstances, and whether they were consistent with the principles of the enterprise bargaining system. The Commission also had to consider the impact of the changes on the employees and whether there was sufficient consultation with the employee representatives. The Commission found that the changes sought by Wild Company Pty Ltd were necessary to address the company's financial difficulties, and that the changes were reasonable and consistent with the principles of the enterprise bargaining system. The Commission also found that there had been sufficient consultation with the employee representatives.

The Commission determined that the proposed changes were in the interests of the company's ongoing viability and were not detrimental to the employees. The Commission varied the collective agreement to reflect the changes proposed by Wild Company Pty Ltd, with the changes taking effect from the date of the decision. The Commission also ordered that the parties continue to engage in good faith bargaining to resolve any further issues that may arise during the term of the agreement.

Wild Company 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