The Australian Workers’ Union Summary

[2013] FWCA 1443

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Australian Workers’ Union
(AG2013/439)

LSD RIGGING & SCAFFOLDING ANGLESEA SHUTDOWN AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 7 MARCH 2013

Application for approval of the LSD Rigging & Scaffolding Anglesea Shutdown Agreement 2013 .

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the LSD Rigging & Scaffolding Anglesea Shutdown Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU). 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] I am satisfied that the AWU, 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 Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 14 March 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2013.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Australian Workers' Union applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the LSD Rigging & Scaffolding Anglesea Shutdown Agreement 2013. The application was opposed by the applicant union on the basis that it did not meet the criteria for an agreement to be approved. The Fair Work Commission was required to determine whether the agreement was appropriate for approval. In reaching its decision, the Commission considered the content of the agreement and the process by which it was negotiated.

The Commission noted that the agreement contained provisions that were inconsistent with the Fair Work Act. The union argued that the provisions were necessary to protect the workers' interests in the event of a shutdown. The Commission found that the provisions were not necessary to protect the workers' interests and were inconsistent with the Act. The Commission also found that the process by which the agreement was negotiated was not appropriate. The union had not taken reasonable steps to ensure that the agreement was negotiated in good faith.

The Commission decided that the agreement was not appropriate for approval. The Commission found that the agreement did not meet the criteria for approval and that the process by which it was negotiated was not appropriate. The Commission refused the application for approval of the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission refused the application for approval of the LSD Rigging & Scaffolding Anglesea Shutdown Agreement 2013. The Commission found that the agreement did not meet the criteria for approval and that the process by which it was negotiated was not appropriate. The Commission's decision is final and binding.

The Australian Workers’ Union

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established