DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Land Engineering Pty Ltd ATF the Trustee for the McCall Trust T/A Land Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2017/6058)

LAND ENGINEERING PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 20 APRIL 2018

Application for approval of the Land Engineering Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Land Engineering Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Land Engineering Pty Ltd ATF the Trustee for the McCall Trust T/A Land Engineering Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 27 April 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 May 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Land Engineering Pty Ltd, acting as trustee for the McCall Trust and trading as Land Engineering Pty Ltd, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of their Enterprise Agreement. The application was contested by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Construction and Building Union (C&BU). The primary dispute centred around the terms and conditions outlined in the proposed agreement, which both unions argued did not adequately protect employee rights or provide fair compensation. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the necessary legal standards for approval.

The court had to address several key legal issues. These included whether the agreement was genuinely an enterprise agreement, whether it provided for the proper exercise of employees' rights, and whether it included minimum terms that were fair and reasonable. Furthermore, the court had to consider whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether the process for its negotiation was fair. The unions contended that the agreement failed to provide adequate protections and did not represent the interests of the employees fairly.

In delivering its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the application did not meet the criteria for approval. The Commission concluded that the proposed agreement did not sufficiently protect employees' rights and did not include minimum terms that were fair and reasonable. The Commission determined that the process for negotiation had not been entirely fair, and therefore, the agreement could not be approved under the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the application was dismissed.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the application for approval of the Land Engineering Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement be rejected, and no further action would be taken on this matter. The decision underscored the importance of ensuring that enterprise agreements adequately protect employee rights and are negotiated fairly. The Commission's ruling highlighted the necessity for careful consideration of both procedural and substantive fairness in the context of enterprise agreements.

Land Engineering Pty Ltd ATF the Trustee for the McCall Trust T/A Land Engineering Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established