NWSM Sheetmetal Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 6618

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

NWSM Sheetmetal Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7446)

NWSM SHEETMETAL PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 23 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the NWSM Sheetmetal Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the NWSM Sheetmetal Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by NWSM Sheetmetal 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 23 September 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 30 September 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 23 March 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

NWSM Sheetmetal Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the NWSM Sheetmetal Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The applicant is an employer engaged in the manufacture and installation of metal products and services. The Australian Workers' Union is the registered union representing the applicant's employees. The dispute before the Commission related to whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 for approval.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to decide included whether the agreement provided for the proper classification of employees and the setting of their rates of pay, entitlements, and conditions of employment. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement provided for appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms and whether it met the requirements of the Act for being a good faith bargain. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for the classification of employees into appropriate occupational groups and set out their rates of pay, entitlements, and conditions of employment. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms and that it was a good faith bargain.

The Commission approved the agreement subject to certain modifications. The modifications included changes to the agreement's provisions on classification, rates of pay, and dispute resolution. The Commission considered that the modifications were necessary to ensure that the agreement met the requirements of the Act and provided for the proper classification of employees and the setting of their rates of pay, entitlements, and conditions of employment. The Commission also noted that the modifications did not undermine the agreement's status as a good faith bargain. The Commission made orders approving the agreement, subject to the modifications.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established