DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Lucknow Nominees Pty Ltd T/A Unitex Industries
(AG2015/673)

LUCKNOW NOMINEES PTY LTD T/A UNITEX INDUSTRIES ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 27 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the LUCKNOW NOMINEES PTY LTD T/A UNITEX INDUSTRIES ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the LUCKNOW NOMINEES PTY LTD T/A UNITEX INDUSTRIES ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2015 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Lucknow Nominees Pty Ltd T/A Unitex Industries. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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.

[3] 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.

[4] Based on statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I am satisfied that The Australian Workers’ Union, the employee organisation to be covered by the agreement, is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 27 March 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 3 April 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 27 September 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Lucknow Nominees Pty Ltd T/A Unitex Industries applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of a workplace determination, which would incorporate the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved as a safety net agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Roy Hill Greenfields Agreement 2015 was negotiated between Unitex Industries and the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) and was intended to govern the employment conditions of Unitex's workers in relation to the Roy Hill Project. The dispute arose as Unitex Industries argued that the agreement provided adequate protections for its employees and should be approved as a safety net agreement, while the AWU contended that the agreement did not adequately protect workers' rights and should not be approved.

The primary legal issue for the Fair Work Commission was whether the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015 met the criteria for approval as a safety net agreement under the Fair Work Act. The Commission had to determine if the agreement provided appropriate safety net protections for the employees and if it was consistent with the objects of the Act. The Commission also had to consider if the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and if it provided for minimum terms and conditions of employment that were no less favourable than those provided for in the relevant award or registered agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015 did not provide adequate safety net protections for employees and, therefore, did not meet the criteria for approval as a safety net agreement. The Commission noted that the agreement contained provisions that were less favourable than those provided for in the relevant award, including provisions relating to overtime rates, penalty rates, and redundancy entitlements. The Commission concluded that the agreement did not genuinely reflect the parties' negotiations and did not provide minimum terms and conditions of employment that were no less favourable than those provided for in the relevant award. As a result, the Fair Work Commission did not approve the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015 as a safety net agreement.

The Fair Work Commission did not approve the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2015 as a safety net agreement, as it did not provide adequate safety net protections for employees and did not meet the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. The Commission found that the agreement contained provisions that were less favourable than those provided for in the relevant award and did not genuinely reflect the parties' negotiations. As a result, the agreement was not approved, and the employees of Unitex Industries will continue to be governed by the relevant award.

Lucknow Nominees Pty Ltd T/A Unitex Industries

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established