Haden Engineering Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 344

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Haden Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2012/14025)

HADEN MECHANICAL SERVICE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT (SOUTHERN WA) 2012-2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 16 JANUARY 2013

Application for approval of the HADEN Mechanical Service Enterprise Agreement (Southern WA) 2012 - 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the HADEN Mechanical Services Enterprise Agreement (Southern WA) 2012 - 2015 (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 Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days from the date of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is three years from the date of operation.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Haden Engineering Pty Ltd applied for the approval of a new enterprise agreement, the Haden Mechanical Service Enterprise Agreement (Southern WA) 2012-2015. The application was opposed by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, with the Hon Commissioner Helen Smith presiding.

The key legal issues were whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether the agreement had been genuinely bargained. The CFMEU argued that the agreement failed to adequately protect the rights of employees and contained terms that were not reasonably necessary for the operation of a business. Haden Engineering, on the other hand, contended that the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining and was in the best interests of the employees.

In her decision, Commissioner Smith found that the agreement was genuinely bargained and met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. She held that while some of the terms of the agreement were not favourable to employees, they were not so unreasonable as to render the agreement invalid. The commissioner found that the agreement contained provisions that were reasonably necessary for the operation of a business and that the process of bargaining was conducted in good faith. Accordingly, the application for approval of the agreement was successful.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Haden Mechanical Service Enterprise Agreement (Southern WA) 2012-2015. The agreement is now registered and binding on all parties, including employees and employers, for the duration of its term.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established