Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 7986

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.225—Enterprise agreement

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7944)

DOWNER EDI ENGINEERING POWER PTY LTD MAINTENANCE SERVICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2010

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 11 NOVEMBER 2014

Application for termination of the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Maintenance Services Enterprise Agreement 2010.

[1] On 22 October 2014, Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd(the Applicant) filed an application to terminate the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Maintenance Services Enterprise Agreement 2010 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.225 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application stated that no employees were covered by the Agreement. Pursuant to s.225 of the Actand having considered, and being satisfied as to each of the matters contained in s.226 of the Act, the Agreement is terminated.

[3] In accordance with s.227 of the Act the termination will come into effect from 11 November 2014.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission to terminate the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Maintenance Services Enterprise Agreement 2010. The application was made on the basis that there had been a significant change in circumstances since the agreement was made, rendering the agreement redundant or obsolete. The nature of the dispute centred on whether the changes in the workplace environment, specifically the significant reduction in workforce and changes in the nature of work, warranted the termination of the existing enterprise agreement.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the significant changes in the workplace environment amounted to a substantial change in circumstances and whether the existing enterprise agreement had become redundant or obsolete as a result of these changes. The court had to interpret the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 to determine the appropriate course of action in such circumstances.

In its decision, the court found that the changes in the workplace environment were indeed substantial and had fundamentally altered the conditions under which the agreement was made. The court held that the significant reduction in workforce and the changes in the nature of work constituted a substantial change in circumstances. Consequently, the existing enterprise agreement had become redundant and obsolete. The court noted that the agreement could not be amended to reflect the new circumstances and that a new enterprise agreement would need to be negotiated to address the current workplace environment. The court ordered the termination of the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Maintenance Services Enterprise Agreement 2010, paving the way for the negotiation of a new agreement that would be more reflective of the current operational realities.

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established