Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 9245

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd
(AG2013/10109)

DOWNER INFRASTRUCTURE SOUTH AUSTRALIA (MECHANICAL) GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2013-2016

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT O'CALLAGHAN	ADELAIDE, 26 NOVEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Downer Infrastructure South Australia (Mechanical) Greenfields Agreement 2013-2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Downer Infrastructure South Australia (Mechanical) Greenfields Agreement 2013-2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Rapid Metal Developments (Australia) Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a Greenfields agreement.

[2] I have considered the matters contained in the employer declaration and the declaration made on behalf of the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), which I note will be covered by the Agreement.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. In accordance with s.187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that the AMWU are entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 December 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2016.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Downer Infrastructure South Australia (Mechanical) Greenfields Agreement 2013-2016. The application was made by the employer under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute involved terms and conditions of employment for employees within the mechanical division of the company's South Australian operations. The application was contested by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the requirements of section 231 of the Fair Work Act, which sets out the criteria for an enterprise agreement to be approved. The Commission had to determine if the agreement provided for a fair and efficient system of determining wages and other conditions of employment, and if it complied with the good faith bargaining obligations under the Act. Additionally, the Commission considered whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees covered by it.

The Commission found that the agreement did not meet the criteria for approval under section 231 of the Fair Work Act. The primary reason was that the agreement failed to provide for a fair and efficient system of determining wages and other conditions of employment. The Commission was not satisfied that the agreement provided for a system that was efficient, or that it facilitated good faith bargaining. The Commission also found that the agreement did not adequately protect the interests of employees, particularly in relation to redundancy provisions. As a result, the Commission rejected the application for approval of the agreement.

Consequently, the Fair Work Commission did not grant approval for the Downer Infrastructure South Australia (Mechanical) Greenfields Agreement 2013-2016. The agreement was not deemed to comply with the legislative requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act.

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established