Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 672

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd
(AG2012/14354)

LEND LEASE INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES PTY LIMITED TASMANIAN CONTRACTING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012-2015

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 30 JANUARY 2013

Application for approval of the Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Limited Tasmanian Contracting Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Limited Tasmanian Contracting Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] An undertaking has been given in relation to several clauses of the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(2) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[4] Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 6 February 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2015.

COMMISSIONER

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APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd for approval of the Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Limited Tasmanian Contracting Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015. The dispute arose out of negotiations between the employer and the union representatives for the employees, seeking to finalise a new enterprise agreement that would govern the terms and conditions of employment for the period specified. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed enterprise agreement was a "new agreement" as defined by section 172 of the Fair Work Act, and if it complied with the good faith bargaining requirements under section 186. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and whether it contained all the prescribed terms and conditions as mandated by the Act. This included assessing the fairness of the agreement in terms of its financial provisions, the protections it offered to employees, and its overall alignment with the principles of the national workplace relations system.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement was indeed a new agreement and that the parties had engaged in good faith bargaining. The Commission noted the comprehensive nature of the agreement, which included provisions for wages, hours of work, and other employment conditions. The Commission also emphasised the importance of the agreement's provisions concerning employee protections, such as provisions for redundancy payments and the handling of grievances. After carefully examining the evidence and submissions, the Commission concluded that the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval and was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission approved the enterprise agreement, ensuring that it would govern the employment terms and conditions for the specified period.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission included the approval of the Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Limited Tasmanian Contracting Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015, with the agreement to be registered and in effect from the specified start date. The Commission also directed that the agreement would be subject to the standard dispute resolution processes outlined in the Fair Work Act, ensuring that any future disputes could be resolved in accordance with the law.

Lend Lease Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established