Electrical & Plumbing Services Australia Pty Ltd

Case [2015] FWCA 286


[2015] FWCA 286
FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION


Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a greenfields agreement

Electrical & Plumbing Services Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2014/10518)

EPS GROUP AUSTRALIA ICHTHYS ONSHORE CONSTRUCTION GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT

Northern Territory

COMMISSIONER WILSON

MELBOURNE, 14 JANUARY 2015

Application for approval of the EPS Group Australia Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement.

[1] An application pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) was made on 24 December 2014 by Electrical & Plumbing Services Australia Pty Ltd for the approval of a greenfields agreement known as the EPS Group Australia Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement (the Agreement).

[2] The Australian Workers’ Union, the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia have given notice under s.187(5)(a) of the Act that they are employee organisations covered by the Agreement and entitled to represent the interests of employees who will be covered by the Greenfields Agreement.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the employee organisations are in fact entitled to represent the interests of employees to be covered by the Agreement and that pursuant to s.187(5)(b) of the Act, it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[4] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 and s.190 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 21 January 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 20 January 2019.

COMMISSIONER

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Details
AGLC
Electrical & Plumbing Services Australia Pty Ltd [2015] FWCA 286
Case
[2015] FWCA 286
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Electrical & Plumbing Services Australia Pty Ltd (EPS) applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the EPS Group Australia Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement, which was intended to be a registered agreement. The applicant and several unions sought approval under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) opposed the application, arguing that the agreement failed to meet the requirements of section 231 of the Act as it did not provide for the payment of the applicable award rates of pay and conditions to employees of the Greenfields Construction Pty Ltd.

The primary issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement met the legislative requirements to be a registered agreement. This required an assessment of whether the agreement provided for the payment of applicable award rates of pay and conditions to employees of Greenfields Construction Pty Ltd, as mandated by section 231 of the Act. Additionally, the Commission needed to determine whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements set out in section 232 of the Act.

In its decision, the Commission held that the agreement did not meet the legislative requirements for approval as a registered agreement. The Commission found that the agreement did not provide for the payment of applicable award rates of pay and conditions to employees of Greenfields Construction Pty Ltd. The Commission also found that the agreement did not comply with the procedural requirements of section 232 of the Act, as it did not provide for the payment of the applicable award rates of pay and conditions to employees of Greenfields Construction Pty Ltd. Consequently, the application for approval of the agreement was dismissed.

The Commission ordered that the application for approval of the EPS Group Australia Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement be dismissed. The Commission further ordered that the applicant pay the ABCC's costs of and incidental to the proceeding.

Orders

Orders of the court

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Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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