Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 1494

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2013/12259)

MAXX ENGINEERING PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2013

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 3 MARCH 2014

Application for approval of the Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] 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] 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.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 3 March 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 10 March 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 3 September 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013. The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) opposed the application. The agreement was to be a greenfields agreement for employees of Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd working on the Roy Hill Project in Western Australia. The AWU argued that the agreement did not comply with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was a genuine greenfields agreement as defined by the Act, and whether it complied with the mandatory terms set out in the Act. The Commission considered whether the agreement met the definition of a greenfields agreement, which requires that it is an agreement for a new workplace or worksite that has not previously been the subject of an enterprise agreement. The Commission also considered whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act.

The Commission found that the agreement was a genuine greenfields agreement and that it complied with the mandatory terms of the Act. The Commission noted that the agreement was for a new worksite and that it was the first enterprise agreement for employees of Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd working on the Roy Hill Project. The Commission also found that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act, including terms relating to minimum rates of pay, classification, and conditions of employment.

The Commission approved the agreement, subject to certain modifications to ensure compliance with the Act. The AWU appealed the decision to the Federal Court, which dismissed the appeal. The AWU subsequently appealed to the High Court, which allowed the appeal and remitted the matter back to the Commission for further consideration. The Commission subsequently approved the agreement, and the AWU did not appeal again.

The Commission approved the Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013, subject to certain modifications. The AWU's objections to the agreement were rejected, and the agreement was approved as a genuine greenfields agreement that complied with the mandatory terms of the Act. The Commission's decision was ultimately upheld by the High Court, and the agreement was implemented for employees of Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd working on the Roy Hill Project.

Maxx Engineering Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established