Raptor Crane Hire Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 3878

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Raptor Crane Hire Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1344)

RAPTOR CRANE HIRE PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 13 JUNE 2014

Application for approval of the Raptor Crane Hire Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Raptor Crane Hire Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The Employer’s Declaration in Support of Application for Approval of Greenfields Agreement states that the enterprise is a genuine new enterprise that the employer is proposing to establish. It also states that the employer has not employed any of the persons who will be necessary for the normal conduct of that enterprise and will be covered by the Agreement. I am therefore satisfied that the requirements of s.172(2)(b) have been met and as a consequence the Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[3] 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.

[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 three and a half years from the date of this decision.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Raptor Crane Hire Pty Ltd sought approval for the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014, which was intended to regulate employment conditions for its workers. The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) and Raptor Crane Hire Pty Ltd entered into the agreement, but it faced opposition from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), which argued that the agreement was not fairly made. The dispute was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), with the CFMEU challenging the fairness of the agreement-making process.

The central legal issues revolved around whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and if it was made without any undue influence or coercion. The FWC considered whether the AWU genuinely represented the workers and if the agreement was made in good faith. Additionally, the Commission examined whether the process complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly those concerning genuine negotiation and the avoidance of industrial action.

The FWC found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and made in good faith. It concluded that the AWU was a genuine representative of the workers and that the process complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission dismissed the CFMEU's objections and approved the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The FWC emphasised the importance of genuine negotiation and the avoidance of industrial action, but found that these objectives were achieved in this case.

The FWC approved the Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014, thereby allowing it to come into effect as a registered agreement. This decision recognised the AWU as the genuine representative of the workers and validated the negotiation process, ensuring that the agreement would regulate employment conditions for the workers in question.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established