EnergyAustralia Yallourn Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 9364

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

EnergyAustralia Yallourn Pty Ltd
(AG2013/11556)

ENERGYAUSTRALIA YALLOURN ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Electrical power industry
COMMISSIONER BISSETT	MELBOURNE, 28 NOVEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the EnergyAustralia Yallourn Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the EnergyAustralia Yallourn Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). 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 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union; the Australian Workers’ Union; the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU); the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia; and, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have each given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. As required by s.201(2), I note that the Agreement covers each organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 5 December 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 28 November 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

EnergyAustralia Yallourn Pty Ltd was a party in an application to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the EnergyAustralia Yallourn Enterprise Agreement 2013. The applicant, EnergyAustralia Yallourn, sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was opposed by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, representing employees of the company. The dispute centred around the terms and conditions of employment as outlined in the proposed enterprise agreement.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for registration under section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This included whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it contained the minimum terms and conditions required by law. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace and whether it met the requirements for being free from coercion and undue influence.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and contained all the necessary minimum terms and conditions. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace and was free from coercion and undue influence. The Commission also considered that the agreement met the requirements for registration under the Fair Work Act 2009. As a result, the Commission approved the EnergyAustralia Yallourn Enterprise Agreement 2013 as a registered agreement.

The Commission ordered that the EnergyAustralia Yallourn Enterprise Agreement 2013 be registered as a registered agreement under section 176 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered from the date of the Commission’s decision and would be in effect for a period of five years from that date. The registration of the agreement meant that it would be protected from challenges under the Fair Work Act 2009 and would be enforceable in accordance with the Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established