Minesite Maintenance Pty T/A Boddington Crane Hire

[2013] FWCA 5454

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Minesite Maintenance Pty T/A Boddington Crane Hire
(AG2013/1941)

BODDINGTON CRANE HIRE WHEATSTONE PROJECT AGREEMENT 2013

Building services
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 13 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the Boddington Crane Hire Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as Boddington Crane Hire Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Minesite Maintenance Pty T/A Boddington Crane Hire and one employee organisation, namely The Australian Workers’ Union. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. In accordance with s.187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that The Australian Workers’ Union 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.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 20 August 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 20 August 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Minesite Maintenance Pty Ltd, trading as Boddington Crane Hire, applied to the Federal Circuit Court for approval of the Boddington Crane Hire Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013. The applicant sought to enter into the agreement with Rio Tinto Iron Ore Pty Ltd, which involved providing crane hire services at the Wheatstone Project site in Western Australia. The dispute centred around the terms of the agreement and whether it complied with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues the court needed to address included whether the agreement was a valid enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act, if it was made in good faith, and if it provided for the proper operation of the enterprise. The court also had to determine if the agreement met the criteria for approval as an individual agreement, as it did not involve a registered union.

The court found that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement made in good faith and met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. It was concluded that the agreement was for the proper operation of the enterprise, provided for the proper management of the enterprise, and did not discriminate against any person or class of persons. The court also held that the agreement met the criteria for approval as an individual agreement, as it was not made with a registered union. Therefore, the application for approval of the agreement was granted.

The court ordered that the Boddington Crane Hire Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would be in effect for a period of five years, subject to the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established