UGL Engineering Pty Limited

[2014] FWCA 401

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

UGL Engineering Pty Limited
(AG2013/10276)

UGL ENGINEERING PTY LIMITED ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2013

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 15 JANUARY 2014

Application for approval of the UGL Engineering Pty Limited Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the UGL Engineering Pty Limited Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by UGL Engineering Pty Limited. 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 Agreement was approved on 15 January 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 22 January 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 July 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

UGL Engineering Pty Limited applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the UGL Engineering Pty Limited Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2013. The applicant sought to have the agreement registered under section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009 as a greenfields agreement, and to have the agreement applied to employees who were not members of a relevant union at the time the application was lodged. The Australian Workers’ Union opposed the application. The dispute before the Commission was whether the application met the requirements of the Fair Work Act and whether the agreement should be approved.

The primary issue for the Commission was whether the application for approval was lodged within the relevant time period and whether the agreement met the requirements for a greenfields agreement. The Commission found that the application was lodged within the prescribed time period and that the agreement met the requirements for a greenfields agreement. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment and that the application was in the public interest.

The Commission approved the application for registration of the agreement and ordered that the agreement be applied to all employees who were not members of a relevant union at the time the application was lodged. The Commission found that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment and that the application was in the public interest. The Commission also found that the agreement met the requirements for a greenfields agreement and that the application was lodged within the relevant time period. The Commission concluded that the agreement should be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act.

The Commission approved the application for registration of the agreement and ordered that the agreement be applied to all employees who were not members of a relevant union at the time the application was lodged. The Commission also ordered that the agreement be registered under section 233 of the Fair Work Act as a greenfields agreement. The Commission found that the agreement met the requirements for a greenfields agreement and that the application was in the public interest. The Commission concluded that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment and that the application should be approved.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established