DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Abergeldie Personnel Pty Ltd
(AG2015/3061)

ABERGELDIE PERSONNEL PTY LTD PIPE REHABILITATION SINGLE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT JULY 2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 25 AUGUST 2015

Application for approval of the Abergeldie Personnel Pty Ltd Pipe Rehabilitation Single Enterprise Agreement July 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known asthe Abergeldie Personnel Pty Ltd Pipe Rehabilitation Single Enterprise Agreement July 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Abergeldie Personnel Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act 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 seven days after the issuing of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 August 2018.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Abergeldie Personnel Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Abergeldie Personnel Pty Ltd Pipe Rehabilitation Single Enterprise Agreement July 2015. The applicant, Abergeldie, operates in the construction industry and employs pipe rehabilitation technicians. The respondent, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), represents the employees. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly sections concerning the procedural fairness and the substantive fairness of the agreement.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, whether it included mandatory terms, and whether it complied with the "better off overall test." The Commission needed to determine if the agreement provided employees with conditions that were at least as good as those provided under the relevant industrial instrument, and whether the agreement had been made in good faith. The Commission also considered whether the agreement contained any terms that were outside the scope of the agreement’s purpose.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties and that it included all the mandatory terms required by the Fair Work Act. The Commission assessed that the agreement was procedurally and substantively fair, meeting the better off overall test. It concluded that the agreement provided employees with conditions that were at least as good as, if not better than, those provided under the relevant industrial instrument. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been made in good faith and that all required consultation had taken place. The Commission approved the Abergeldie Personnel Pty Ltd Pipe Rehabilitation Single Enterprise Agreement July 2015, effective from the date of the decision.

Abergeldie Personnel 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