Pilbara Electrical

[2013] FWCA 3435

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Pilbara Electrical
(AG2013/1292)

PILBARA ELECTRICAL ICHTHYS ONSHORE CONSTRUCTION GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT

Northern Territory
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HARRISON	SYDNEY, 30 MAY 2013

Application for approval of the Pilbara Electrical Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Pilbara Electrical Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement (the Agreement). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement. It has been made by Pilbara Electrical, the Australian Workers’ Union, the "Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union" known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia.

[2] The application is made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). 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 particular, I am satisfied that the employee organisations, taken as a group, are 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. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 6 June 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 29 May 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Pilbara Electrical Workers Union lodged an application for approval of the Pilbara Electrical Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement. The parties to the agreement were the Pilbara Electrical Workers Union, the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, and a number of employers in the Pilbara region. The agreement aimed to regulate employment conditions for workers in the Pilbara electrical industry, specifically those involved in the Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields project. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement met the criteria for "registered agreement" status under the Act. This included assessing whether the agreement was in the public interest, if it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions, and if it was free from any improper conduct that occurred during its negotiation.

The Commission found that the agreement did not meet the necessary criteria to be registered as a lawful agreement under the Fair Work Act. The Commission determined that the agreement failed to adequately protect employees' rights and did not provide sufficient safeguards against exploitation. The Commission also found that there had been instances of improper conduct during the negotiation process, which further undermined the agreement's validity. Consequently, the Commission dismissed the application for approval of the Pilbara Electrical Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement.

The Commission ordered that the application for approval of the agreement be dismissed, and the agreement not be registered as a lawful agreement. The Commission also directed the parties to the agreement to cease any further actions or negotiations based on the terms of the agreement. This decision effectively nullified the proposed agreement and left the affected workers without the protections that the agreement had sought to provide.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established