O.G.C Services Pty Ltd T/A Easternwell Summary

[2014] FWCA 5832

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

O.G.C Services Pty Ltd T/A Easternwell
(AG2014/7044)

WELL SERVICING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Oil and gas industry
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 27 AUGUST 2014

Application for approval of the Well Servicing Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Well Servicing Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by O.G.C Services Pty Ltd T/A Easternwell. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] As the consultation term does not meet the requirements of s.205 of the Act, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement and is attached to the Agreement.

[4] The agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of O.G.C Services Pty Ltd trading as Easternwell, the Fair Work Commission was asked to approve a Well Servicing Enterprise Agreement. The application for approval was brought by the employer, O.G.C Services Pty Ltd, under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around the terms of the proposed agreement, which was to apply to employees within the well servicing industry.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the legislative requirements for enterprise agreements and whether it met the 'better off overall test'. This test requires that employees should be no worse off financially and should have at least the same conditions as those provided under the applicable award or existing agreement. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement was free from prohibited content and whether it adhered to the procedural fairness requirements.

The Commission found that the agreement satisfied the statutory requirements. It determined that employees would not be worse off overall and that the agreement contained terms that were at least as favourable as those in the applicable award. The Commission also confirmed that the agreement did not contain any prohibited content and that the process leading to the agreement was fair and lawful. Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Well Servicing Enterprise Agreement 2014.

As a result of the decision, the Fair Work Commission issued an approval certificate for the Well Servicing Enterprise Agreement 2014, which is now legally binding on the parties involved. This outcome ensures that the terms of the agreement will govern the employment conditions of the relevant employees, subject to the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.

O.G.C Services Pty Ltd T/A Easternwell

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established