DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Wire Industries Pty Ltd
(AG2019/3819)

WIRE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 14 OCTOBER 2019

Application for approval of the Wire Industries Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] Application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Wire Industries Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Wire Industries Pty Ltd.

[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 Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 21 October 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 20 October 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Wire Industries Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for the approval of the Wire Industries Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019. The application was opposed by the Building and Construction General On-Site Union. The dispute centred on whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The primary issues involved whether the agreement complied with the procedural fairness requirements and whether it adhered to the better-off, overall test.

The FWC examined the procedural fairness requirements, including whether the employer had genuinely bargained with the union, whether the union had acted in good faith, and whether the employees had been adequately informed and consulted. The Commission also assessed whether the agreement satisfied the better-off, overall test, which requires that the proposed agreement provide employees with no less than the applicable minimum terms and conditions of employment and be better off overall than what they would receive under the relevant award or registered agreement. The FWC found that the employer had genuinely bargained with the union, and the union had acted in good faith. The FWC also concluded that the employees had been adequately informed and consulted about the agreement.

Having satisfied the procedural fairness requirements, the FWC turned to the better-off, overall test. The FWC found that the proposed agreement provided employees with no less than the applicable minimum terms and conditions of employment and that the employees would be better off overall under the proposed agreement. The FWC approved the Wire Industries Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019, finding it met the legal requirements for approval.

Wire Industries 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