DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Wilson Transformer Company Pty Ltd T/A Wilson Transformer Company
(AG2017/5399)

WILSON TRANSFORMER COMPANY POWER BUSINESS UNIT (STORES) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 15 DECEMBER 2017

Application for approval of the Wilson Transformer Company Power Business Unit (Stores) Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Wilson Transformer Company Power Business Unit (Stores) Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Wilson Transformer Company Pty Ltd T/A Wilson Transformer Company. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The National Union of Workers 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 22 December 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved the Wilson Transformer Company Pty Ltd trading as the Wilson Transformer Company, seeking approval of the Wilson Transformer Company Power Business Unit (Stores) Enterprise Agreement 2017. The respondents to the application were the relevant trade unions. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically in terms of its provisions on employee conditions and the process by which the agreement was reached.

The legal issues the court had to address included whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it contained the required minimum terms and conditions as stipulated by the Act. Additionally, the court examined whether the process of reaching the agreement complied with the procedural requirements and whether it provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees. The unions argued that the agreement did not adequately protect employee rights and conditions, and that the process by which the agreement was negotiated was flawed.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement did meet the statutory requirements for approval. The court held that the agreement was made in good faith and contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions. The Commission was satisfied that the process for negotiating the agreement was fair and that the terms offered were reasonable. The unions' concerns about the adequacy of employee protections were not sufficient to overturn the agreement, as the Commission found that the agreement provided a fair and reasonable outcome for all parties involved. Consequently, the court approved the enterprise agreement.

Wilson Transformer Company Pty Ltd T/A Wilson Transformer Company

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established