Giidjaa Projects Pty Ltd

[2024] FWCA 1479

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Giidjaa Projects Pty Ltd

(AG2024/1219)

GIIDJAA PROJECTS PTY LTD AND CEPU ELECTRICAL DIVISION QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023 – 2026

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 22 APRIL 2024

Application for approval of the Giidjaa Projects Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023 – 2026

Giidjaa Projects Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Giidjaa Projects Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023 – 2026 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

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 has been met. In accordance with s 187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that the CEPU 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.

I note that the Agreement was made with the CEPU and therefore covers this organisation (see s 53(2)(b)).

The Agreement was approved on 22 April 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In this matter, the Fair Work Commission heard an application for the approval of the Giidjaa Projects Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026. The parties involved were Giidjaa Projects Pty Ltd, represented by their employer's lawyer, and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), acting on behalf of the CEPU Electrical Division. The primary issue before the Commission was whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the statutory criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it provided for a fair and reasonable terms of employment, and whether it had been independently negotiated.

The Commission considered several factors in its analysis, including the nature of the agreement, the process by which it was negotiated, and the specific terms and conditions it contained. The Commission also examined the bargaining positions of the parties and the extent to which the agreement reflected a genuine compromise between them. In reaching its decision, the Commission gave significant weight to the fact that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith by genuinely independent representatives of the parties, and that it contained provisions that were fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.

After careful consideration of the evidence and arguments presented by both parties, the Commission was satisfied that the Giidjaa Projects Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026 met the statutory criteria for approval. The Commission found that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms of employment, and that it had been independently negotiated by genuinely representative parties. Accordingly, the Commission approved the agreement, and it will now take effect from the date of the decision.

No further orders were made by the Commission.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established