Hebden Quarries Pty Limited

[2014] FWCA 8433

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Hebden Quarries Pty Limited
(AG2014/9533)

HEBDEN QUARRIES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Quarrying industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HARRISON	SYDNEY, 26 NOVEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Hebden Quarries Pty ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Hebden Quarries Pty ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014 (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] An undertaking concerning clause 4.7 (Superannuation) has been provided by the employer and it is taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertaking is attached at Annexure A.

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 3 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 3 December 2016.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Price code G, AE411360 PR558192

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for the approval of the Hebden Quarries Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014. This agreement, which was entered into between the employer and the employees represented by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), aimed to regulate various terms and conditions of employment. The dispute centred on whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it was made in good faith and free from coercion or undue influence.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to address included whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms as required by the Fair Work Act, if the agreement was made in good faith, and if it was free from any form of coercion or undue influence. Furthermore, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement provided for proper dispute resolution mechanisms and if it met the requirements for being considered a low paid industry agreement.

In its decision, the Commission found that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Fair Work Act. The Commission noted that the agreement was made in good faith and was free from any form of coercion or undue influence. The agreement was also found to provide for proper dispute resolution mechanisms and met the criteria for being considered a low paid industry agreement. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, deeming it to be compliant with the relevant legislative provisions.

The Commission's approval of the Hebden Quarries Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2014 signifies that the agreement is now legally binding on the parties involved. The final orders included the registration of the agreement on the Register of Approved Agreements and the enforcement of its terms between the employer and the employees represented by the CFMEU.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established