Fair Work Act 2009

s.225 - Enterprise agreement

WILSON TRANSFORMER COMPANY POWER BUSINESS UNIT (STORES) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Application for termination of the Wilson Transformer Company Power Business Unit (Stores) Enterprise Agreement 2020

[1] Wilson Transformer Company (WTC) has applied to terminate the Wilson Transformer Company Power Business Unit (Stores) Enterprise Agreement 2020 (Stores Agreement). The Agreement was approved on 12 April 2022 and nominally expired on 30 June 2024. The application for termination is made on the basis that continued operation of the agreement would be unfair for the employees covered.

[2] Section 226 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) requires the Commission to terminate an enterprise agreement if the conditions in that section are met. There are certain mandatory considerations in relation to the termination of an enterprise agreement under section 225 of the Act. Dealing with the matters of relevance in this case:

1. Whether continuing operation would be unfair to employees: I am satisfied on the materials that the continued operation of the Agreement would be unfair to employees covered by their terms. It is more than 3 years since the Agreement came into operation. Over this time, the legislative framework has altered to a significant degree. The Agreement has not kept pace with changes to the underlying Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 (the Award). It is unlikely that on their terms, the Agreement would pass the better off overall test against the Award if applied today. WTC has a second Agreement that is currently in place, namely the Wilson Transformer Company Power Transformer Business Unit Enterprise Agreement 2024 (PBU Agreement) which was approved on 20 August 2024 and has provisions which meet the better off overall test and of which the employees covered by the Agreement would transfer over to and be covered under.

2. Views of persons covered: The United Workers' Union (UWU) support the termination of the Agreement. At a conference held on 3 March 2026, all 5 employees covered by the Stores Agreement attended and confirmed that they did not object to the termination of the Stores Agreement and confirmed that they would be satisfied to now be covered under the PBU Agreement.

3. Effect on bargaining: On the information available, there has been no notification time, and there is no bargaining underway, in connection with an enterprise agreement to replace the Agreement. All the employees covered by the Agreement will be covered by the PBU Agreement. The parties are free to bargain for a replacement to the PBU agreement at any time.

4. Other relevant matters: This date is important for WTC to assist in establishing new payroll systems built specifically to accommodate employment under the Stores Agreement. It is also a measure that is likely to promote compliance with the PBU Agreement once it commences to apply in relation to affected employees.

[3] I am satisfied that termination of the Agreement is appropriate in all the circumstances. As a result, I must terminate the Agreement.

[4] The Wilson Transformer Company Power Business Unit (Stores) Enterprise Agreement 2020 (AE515684) is terminated with effect from 13 March 2026. All employees covered under this Agreement will now be covered under the PBU Agreement.

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