Southern Wire Export Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 1862

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Southern Wire Export Pty Ltd
(AG2014/55)

SOUTHERN WIRE EXPORT PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 20 MARCH 2014

Application for approval of the Southern Wire Export Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Southern Wire Export Pty Ltd 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 Southern Wire Export Pty Ltd. 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] 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.

[4] The model consultation clause is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 20 March 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 27 March 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 26 September 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Southern Wire Export Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Southern Wire Export Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The applicants sought to have the agreement registered by the Commission as a greenfields agreement under section 236A of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute involved the applicants’ claim that the agreement contained the necessary elements to be considered a greenfields agreement, including provisions for the establishment of a workplace, and the agreement’s compliance with the Fair Work Act. The Commission considered whether the agreement met the criteria for a greenfields agreement, and if it was made in good faith and in the spirit of the Act. The Commission determined that the agreement did not meet the definition of a greenfields agreement under section 236A of the Fair Work Act, primarily due to the absence of an establishment clause. The agreement, as presented, did not include provisions for the establishment of a workplace, which is a fundamental requirement for a greenfields agreement. Additionally, the Commission found that the agreement was not made in good faith, as it did not comply with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the application for approval of the agreement was dismissed. The Commission made no orders as the application for approval was not successful.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established