Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 4655

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd
(AG2013/6999)

AUSTRALIAN PRESSURE WELDING PTY LTD AGREEMENT 2013-2017

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 12 JULY 2013

Application for approval of the Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd Agreement 2013-2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd Agreement 2013-2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 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(1), will operate from 19 July 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 January 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd involved a dispute regarding the approval of an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) was asked to consider whether the Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd Agreement 2013-2017 should be approved as a registered agreement. The parties involved were Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd, the employer, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, the employee representative.

The primary legal issue the FWC had to address was whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the FWC needed to determine if the agreement complied with the provisions relating to the certification and registration of enterprise agreements, including the requirement for the agreement to be free from any prohibited content. Furthermore, the FWC was required to ensure the agreement provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment that were no less favourable than the applicable awards or registered agreements, and that the agreement was certified by a certified bargainer as being in the interests of the employees.

In its decision, the FWC thoroughly examined the provisions of the agreement and the submissions from both parties. The FWC found that the agreement was free from any prohibited content and that it complied with the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act. The FWC considered that the agreement provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment that were no less favourable than those provided by relevant awards or registered agreements. Additionally, the FWC noted that the agreement had been certified by a certified bargainer, who had assessed it to be in the interests of the employees. Based on these findings, the FWC approved the agreement as a registered enterprise agreement.

The final order of the FWC was that the Australian Pressure Welding Pty Ltd Agreement 2013-2017 be approved and registered under section 173 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision effectively formalised the agreement as a binding arrangement between the employer and the employees, governing the terms and conditions of their employment during the specified period.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established