Kaefer Novacoat Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 6201

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Kaefer Novacoat Pty Ltd
(AG2013/7544)

KAEFER NOVACOAT PTY LTD KARARA IRON ORE MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2013-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 28 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the KAEFER Novacoat Pty Ltd Karara Iron Ore Maintenance Employee Collective Agreement 2013 - 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the KAEFER Novacoat Pty Ltd Karara Iron Ore Maintenance Employee Collective Agreement 2013 - 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 31 December 2015.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Kaefer Novacoat Pty Ltd recently applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the KAEFER Novacoat Pty Ltd Karara Iron Ore Maintenance Employee Collective Agreement 2013 - 2015. The applicant is a civil engineering and maintenance company operating at the Karara iron ore mine. The dispute arose when the applicant sought to have the agreement approved as a greenfields agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondents, including several unions, challenged the application on various grounds, including the applicant's eligibility to be approved as an employer of a greenfields agreement.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the applicant met the definition of an employer of a greenfields agreement under the Fair Work Act. A secondary issue was whether the agreement met the requirements for approval as a greenfields agreement, including provisions relating to the establishment of a new workplace and the terms and conditions of employment for employees involved in the new workplace. The Commission considered evidence from both the applicant and the respondents, including submissions and affidavits.

In its decision, the Commission found that the applicant was eligible to be approved as an employer of a greenfields agreement. The Commission accepted that the Karara iron ore mine was a new workplace and that the agreement related to the establishment of that workplace. The Commission also found that the agreement met the requirements for approval as a greenfields agreement, including provisions relating to the terms and conditions of employment for employees involved in the new workplace. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees and that it was in the best interests of the employees and the workplace.

The Commission approved the KAEFER Novacoat Pty Ltd Karara Iron Ore Maintenance Employee Collective Agreement 2013 - 2015 as a greenfields agreement. The Commission made orders approving the agreement and directing that it be registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. The decision is an important reminder of the requirements for approval of greenfields agreements under the Fair Work Act and the factors that the Commission will consider in determining whether to approve such agreements.

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Legal Principle Established