Great Southern Plant and Labour Hire Pty Limited

[2014] FWCA 4757

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Great Southern Plant and Labour Hire Pty Limited
(AG2014/6631)

GREAT SOUTHERN PLANT & LABOUR ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 16 JULY 2014

Application for approval of the Great Southern Plant & Labour Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Great Southern Plant & Labour Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Great Southern Plant and Labour Hire Pty Limited. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 23 July 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 July 2018.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Great Southern Plant and Labour Hire Pty Limited, sought approval of the Great Southern Plant & Labour Enterprise Agreement 2014 under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant argued that the agreement was appropriate for the employees of the business, while the respondents, who were employees of the business, challenged the fairness and appropriateness of the agreement. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The legal issues before the court were whether the agreement met the criteria for an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act, including whether it provided for a fair and reasonable way of determining employees’ terms and conditions of employment, and whether it complied with the procedural requirements of the Act. The court also needed to consider the fairness and reasonableness of the agreement's provisions, particularly in relation to the respondents' objections.

The court found that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, and that the procedural requirements had been met. The court also found that the agreement was fair and reasonable, and did not contain any unfair or unreasonable provisions. The court dismissed the respondents' objections, finding that they were not justified. The court approved the agreement, and the applicant's application was successful.

The court's decision was based on a detailed analysis of the agreement's provisions and the evidence presented by both parties. The court found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable way of determining employees’ terms and conditions of employment, and that it complied with the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act. The court also found that the agreement was fair and reasonable, and that the respondents' objections were not justified. The court approved the agreement, and the applicant's application was successful.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established