Mcglashan Mechanical Services Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 4252

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Mcglashan Mechanical Services Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1513)

MCGLASHAN MECHANICAL SERVICES PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 1 JULY 2014

Application for approval of the Mcglashan Mechanical Services Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Mcglashan Mechanical Services Pty Ltd 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 years and six months after the date of this decision.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission was an application for the approval of a new enterprise agreement, the Mcglashan Mechanical Services Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The applicant, Mcglashan Mechanical Services Pty Ltd, sought to have the agreement registered, while the Australian Workers Union opposed the application on behalf of its members who were affected by the proposed terms. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the legal criteria for approval as stipulated under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement complied with the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission needed to assess if the agreement was made in good faith, covered the correct bargaining unit, and included terms that were not contrary to public policy or unfair. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties and if it included a process for resolving disputes that arose under the agreement.

The Commission concluded that the proposed agreement was made in good faith and was genuinely negotiated between the parties. The agreement covered the correct bargaining unit and included appropriate dispute resolution processes. The Commission found that the terms of the agreement were not contrary to public policy and did not contain any unfair provisions. Consequently, the Commission approved the Mcglashan Mechanical Services Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014, and it was registered as a new enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The decision was made in the interest of achieving a fair and balanced agreement that met the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established