BlueScope Steel Limited T/A Lysaght Summary

[2014] FWCA 2189

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

BlueScope Steel Limited T/A Lysaght
(AG2014/326)

LYSAGHT CARDIFF WORKPLACE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 3 APRIL 2014

Application for approval of the Lysaght Cardiff Workplace Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Lysaght Cardiff Workplace Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by BlueScope Steel Limited t/a Lysaght (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] Fair Work Commission received correspondence dated 20 March 2014, which included further material in support of the application together with Undertakings made by and duly signed by the National HR Manager - Lysaght, proposed to FWC pursuant to s.190 of the Act (the Undertakings).

[4] I am prepared to accept the Undertakings. As provided by s.191 of the Act, the Undertakings are taken to be terms of the Agreement. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] 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 14 February 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Undertaking

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of BlueScope Steel Limited, trading as Lysaght, an application was made to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Lysaght Cardiff Workplace Agreement 2014. The dispute arose from negotiations between the applicant, BlueScope Steel Limited, and its employees represented by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The crux of the matter was whether the proposed workplace agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the Lysaght Cardiff Workplace Agreement 2014 complied with the procedural and substantive requirements set out in the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the agreement was made in good faith, whether it was the product of genuine bargaining, and whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The applicant argued that the agreement was a genuine outcome of negotiations and satisfied all legislative criteria. The CFMEU, on the other hand, contended that the agreement did not meet the statutory standards and should not be approved.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was indeed the result of genuine bargaining and met all statutory requirements for approval. The court emphasised that the agreement contained provisions that were fair and reasonable, and it was made in good faith. The court was satisfied that the process leading to the agreement was transparent and that the terms were negotiated in a manner consistent with the principles of the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the application for approval of the Lysaght Cardiff Workplace Agreement 2014 was granted.

The final orders of the court were that the Lysaght Cardiff Workplace Agreement 2014 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement would then be binding on the parties and their employees, and it would remain in force until terminated in accordance with its provisions or otherwise under the Act.

BlueScope Steel Limited T/A Lysaght

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established