The Fair Work Commission has granted telecommunications vendor Nokia Australia’s application to have its new employees absorbed from Alcatel-Lucent not be covered by their previous employer’s employment agreement.
After Nokia acquired Alcatel Lucent in 2016 and absorbed it into the Nokia Networks division, its Australian operations agreed to take on 395 of Alcatel-Lucent Australia’s employees as part of the deal.
The transferring employees who had worked at Alcatel-Lucent on or before 6 June were set to commence their roles with their new employer on 15 July. There are also 51 who did not accept ongoing employment with Nokia, and are still covered by the agreement.
The decision document from the Fair Work Commission indicated that there wasn’t a substantive opposition to the application from the employees themselves, with only 53 out of the 395 employees opposing Nokia’s decision.
The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA) opposed Nokia’s application to no longer have its new employees be covered by the Alcatel-Lucent Employment Partnership Agreement of 2009.
However, the application was granted after Nokia agreed to submit an amended draft order. It addressed matters involving award-free employees and the child care benefit included in a clause of the agreement.
APESMA presented a petition signed by 96 of the employees in question, claiming that the order would have a negative impact on their employment and on the security of benefits they had received under the agreement.
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