DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Geovert Ground Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2015/4477)

GEOVERT GROUND ENGINEERING PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 1 SEPTEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the Geovert Ground Engineering Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise Agreement known as the Geovert Ground Engineering 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 Geovert Ground Engineering Pty Ltd.

[2] This is a greenfields Agreement that meets the requirements of s.172(2)(b) of the Act. 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. In accordance with s.187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that the Australian Workers’ Union 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.

[3] The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer however taking into account the factors in ss.186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] 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.

[5] Pursuant to s.53(2)(b) I note the Agreement was made with the Australian Workers’ Union and that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from
8 September 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 March 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Geovert Ground Engineering Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Geovert Ground Engineering Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015. The applicant sought to have the agreement registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Australian Workers’ Union was the registered bargaining representative for the applicant’s employees. The union did not oppose the application, however it made submissions regarding the appropriate process for determining whether the agreement should be approved.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the application should be approved as a greenfields agreement and, if so, whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission considered whether the agreement was genuinely a greenfields agreement, whether the agreement was made in good faith, and whether it complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act.

The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely a greenfields agreement, as it was made between parties that had not previously been engaged in enterprise bargaining for the employees concerned. The Commission also found that the agreement was made in good faith and complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act. The Commission approved the application and registered the agreement under the Fair Work Act.

The Commission made orders approving the Geovert Ground Engineering Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015 and registering it as a greenfields agreement under the Fair Work Act. The agreement was to be in effect from the date of registration and was to remain in force for a period of five years.

Geovert Ground Engineering 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