ABC Crane Hire Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 3769

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

ABC Crane Hire Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1253)

ABC CRANE HIRE PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 6 JUNE 2014

Application for approval of the ABC Crane Hire Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the ABC Crane Hire Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The Employer’s Declaration in Support of Application for Approval of Greenfields Agreement states that the enterprise is a genuine new enterprise that the employer is proposing to establish. It also states that the employer has not employed any of the persons who will be necessary for the normal conduct of that enterprise and will be covered by the Agreement. I am therefore satisfied that the requirements of s.172(2)(b) have been met and as a consequence the Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days from the date of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is three and a half years from the date of this decision.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

ABC Crane Hire Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The applicant, ABC Crane Hire, is a crane hire company operating in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The applicant and the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) had negotiated an enterprise agreement concerning terms and conditions of employment for employees of the applicant. The dispute before the Commission involved whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues the Commission was required to decide were whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, if it was free from unlawful content, and if it complied with procedural fairness. The applicant and the AWU argued that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement that was negotiated in good faith, free from unlawful content, and met the requirements of procedural fairness. The Commission needed to determine if the agreement was fairly and genuinely negotiated, if it contained any unlawful content, and if the negotiation process was fair and transparent.

The Fair Work Commission found that the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014 met the criteria for approval. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement that had been negotiated in good faith. The Commission found that the agreement was free from unlawful content and that the negotiation process was fair and transparent. The Commission held that the applicant and the AWU had taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the agreement was fairly and genuinely negotiated. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement met the requirements of procedural fairness and approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014, finding that it was a genuine enterprise agreement that was free from unlawful content and met the requirements of procedural fairness. The Commission found that the negotiation process was fair and transparent, and that all reasonable steps had been taken to ensure that the agreement was fairly and genuinely negotiated. The applicant and the AWU were directed to take all necessary steps to give effect to the approved agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established