Poly Pipe Traders Summary

[2014] FWCA 5941

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Poly Pipe Traders
(AG2014/1825)

POLY PIPE TRADERS ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 27 AUGUST 2014

Application for approval of the Poly Pipe Traders Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Poly Pipe Traders 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 Poly Pipe Traders. 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] Pursuant to s. 205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 27 August 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 3 September 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 27 February 2018.

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 the Poly Pipe Traders Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The application was made by the Australian Workers’ Union, which sought to have the agreement made under section 178 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement was in the interests of the employees covered by the agreement. The Poly Pipe Traders opposed the application on various grounds, arguing that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act.

The primary legal issue the court needed to decide was whether the agreement was a "good faith" agreement within the meaning of section 230 of the Act. Specifically, the court needed to determine whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it was in the interests of the employees. The court also needed to consider whether the agreement met the requirements of the Act, including whether it had been made by an authorised bargaining representative, whether it covered employees who were not already covered by an existing agreement, and whether it contained certain prescribed terms.

The court found that the agreement was a good faith agreement and that it was in the interests of the employees covered by the agreement. The court was satisfied that the agreement had been made in good faith and that it contained all the prescribed terms required by the Act. The court also found that the agreement was in the interests of the employees because it provided for a fair and reasonable level of pay and conditions, and it allowed for flexibility in the workplace. The court rejected the arguments of the Poly Pipe Traders and approved the agreement.

The court made an order approving the Poly Pipe Traders Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The agreement was approved as a registered agreement under section 178 of the Act. The agreement will now apply to the employees covered by the agreement, and it will remain in force until it is terminated or replaced by a new agreement.

Poly Pipe Traders

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established