Proficient Engineering and Maintenance Services Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 2901

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Proficient Engineering and Maintenance Services Pty Ltd
(AG2013/1024)

PROFICIENT ENGINEERING AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES PTY LTD AN3 PROJECT ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 9 MAY 2013

Application for approval of the Proficient Engineering and Maintenance Services Pty Ltd AN3 Project Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Proficient Engineering and Maintenance Services Pty Ltd AN3 Project Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] As the Agreement does not contain a flexibility term, the model flexibility term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days from the date of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is two years from the date of this decision or until practical completion of the Project, whichever occurs sooner.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Proficient Engineering and Maintenance Services Pty Ltd applied for approval of the AN3 Project Enterprise Agreement 2013 before the Fair Work Commission. The applicant and the respondents, various unions, had been engaged in negotiations to reach an agreement regarding the terms and conditions of employment for certain workers. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it provided for appropriate terms and conditions and was free from inappropriate content.

The legal issues before the Commission involved verifying whether the agreement contained provisions that were contrary to public policy or were otherwise inappropriate, assessing if the agreement was made in good faith and whether it was appropriately certified by the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The Commission also had to determine if the agreement provided for the appropriate minimum terms and conditions as required by the Act.

The Fair Work Commission concluded that the agreement did not contain any provisions that were contrary to public policy or otherwise inappropriate. It found that the agreement had been made in good faith and was appropriately certified. The Commission also determined that the agreement provided for the appropriate minimum terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act 2009. Therefore, the application for approval was granted.

The Commission approved the Proficient Engineering and Maintenance Services Pty Ltd AN3 Project Enterprise Agreement 2013, effective from 1 September 2013. The agreement was to apply to employees who were engaged in the construction, maintenance, repair, and refurbishment of commercial, industrial, and public infrastructure projects. The approval was subject to certain conditions, including a requirement for the applicant to provide written notice to affected employees within a specified period.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established