Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 1543

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd
(AG2014/414)

LAING O’ROURKE ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 5 MARCH 2014

Application for approval of the Laing O’Rourke Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Laing O’Rourke Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The Employer’s Declaration in Support of Application for Approval of Greenfields Agreement states that the enterprise is a genuine new enterprise that the employer is proposing to establish. It also states that the employer has not employed any of the persons who will be necessary for the normal conduct of that enterprise and will be covered by the Agreement. I am therefore satisfied that the requirements of s.172(2)(b) have been met and as a consequence the Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

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

[4] 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 and a half years from the date of this decision.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this matter were Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd and the Australian Workers’ Union. The dispute was an application for the approval of the Laing O’Rourke Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, which is an Australian tribunal responsible for overseeing workplace relations and employment agreements.

The legal issues that the court had to decide related to the validity of the proposed enterprise agreement. Specifically, the court needed to determine whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement had been put forward by the applicant, Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd, and the union, the Australian Workers’ Union. The court needed to consider the process by which the agreement had been negotiated, as well as the content of the agreement itself.

In its decision, the court considered the evidence presented by both parties and the legal framework within which the agreement had been negotiated. The court found that the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, and was therefore valid. The court noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, and that the process had been conducted in a fair and transparent manner. The court also considered the content of the agreement, and found that it met the requirements of the Act.

The court approved the Laing O’Rourke Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014, and ordered that it be registered with the Fair Work Commission. The agreement is now a legally binding enterprise agreement between Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd and the Australian Workers’ Union, and will govern the employment conditions of the employees covered by the agreement.

Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established