DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Earthmoving Maintenance Services Pty Ltd
(AG2015/570)

EARTHMOVING MAINTENANCE SERVICES PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 19 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the Earthmoving Maintenance Services Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Earthmoving Maintenance Services Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Earthmoving Maintenance Services Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] Based on statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I am satisfied that The Australian Workers’ Union, the employee organisation to be covered by the agreement, is 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 19 March 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 26 March 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is
19 September 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Earthmoving Maintenance Services Pty Ltd, a company engaged in the provision of earthmoving services, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015. The applicant's dispute was with the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), which claimed to represent the interests of employees at the Roy Hill mine site, where the applicant's employees were working. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, whether it provided for the simplification, modernisation, or flexibility of workplace relations, and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining requirements of the Act. Additionally, the Commission had to assess if the agreement contained provisions that were contrary to public policy, and whether it was fair and reasonable in all its terms.

In assessing these issues, the Commission considered the bargaining process and the content of the agreement. The applicant argued that the agreement was genuine and that it had been reached through good faith bargaining. The AWU, on the other hand, raised concerns about the agreement's provisions. After examining the evidence and submissions, the Commission found that the agreement was genuine, provided for simplification and modernisation of workplace relations, and was reached through good faith bargaining. It also determined that the agreement did not contain provisions that were contrary to public policy and was fair and reasonable in all its terms. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement.

Earthmoving Maintenance Services 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