Primaweld Engineering Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 7907

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Primaweld Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2013/10701)

PRIMAWELD PTY LTD CFMEU & AMWU CERTIFIED AGREEMENT FOR YALLOURN POWER STATION AND OPENCUT MINE VICTORIA, 2012

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 9 OCTOBER 2013

Application for approval of the Primaweld Pty Ltd CFMEU & AMWU Certified Agreement for Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine Victoria, 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Primaweld Pty Ltd CFMEU & AMWU Certified Agreement for Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine Victoria, 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Primaweld Engineering Pty Ltd. The agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] Undertakings have been given in relation to several clauses of the Agreement and these undertakings have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and are appended at Appendix A.

[4] I am satisfied that the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), 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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 16 October 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Primaweld Engineering Pty Ltd involved an application for the approval of a certified agreement for employees of Primaweld Pty Ltd, a company operating at Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine in Victoria. The applicants, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), sought the court's approval of the Primaweld Pty Ltd CFMEU & AMWU Certified Agreement for Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine Victoria, 2012. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

The central legal issue before the FWC was whether the proposed certified agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. This included assessing whether the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment, as well as whether it was appropriately certified by the relevant union. The FWC was required to consider the content of the agreement, the process by which it was certified, and whether it met the necessary standards for approval under the Act.

The FWC carefully examined the certified agreement, taking into account the submissions from both the unions and the employer. The FWC noted that the agreement contained terms and conditions that were fair and reasonable, and that the certification process appeared to have been conducted appropriately. The FWC found that the agreement met the necessary standards for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Consequently, the FWC approved the certified agreement, allowing it to be registered and enforceable under the Act.

The FWC approved the Primaweld Pty Ltd CFMEU & AMWU Certified Agreement for Yallourn Power Station and Opencut Mine Victoria, 2012, confirming its compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision provides clarity on the requirements for the approval of certified agreements and the role of the FWC in ensuring fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment.

Primaweld Engineering Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established