UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd

[2022] FWCA 3420

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd

(AG2022/4056)

UGL Orica Kooragang Island Enterprise Agreement 2022

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 4 OCTOBER 2022

Application for approval of the UGL Orica Kooragang Island Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the UGL Orica Kooragang Island Enterprise Agreement 2022 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The National Employment Standards precedence provision in clause 1.7(b) of the Agreement will ensure that the terms of the Agreement are not detrimental in any respect to any employee covered by the Agreement, when compared to the National Employment Standards.

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

The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under section 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with subsection 201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.
The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with section 54 of the Act, will operate from 11 October 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 10 October 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd was the subject of an application before the Fair Work Commission, seeking approval for the UGL Orica Kooragang Island Enterprise Agreement 2022. The applicant, UGL Operations and Maintenance, sought the approval of this enterprise agreement, which had been negotiated with the relevant unions and was intended to govern the employment conditions of workers at the Kooragang Island site.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly whether it contained all the minimum terms and conditions, was free from prohibited content, and was made in good faith and without coercion. The Commission had to examine whether the process by which the agreement was made was compliant with the relevant provisions of the Act and the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

The Fair Work Commission found that the UGL Orica Kooragang Island Enterprise Agreement 2022 satisfied all the statutory requirements. It confirmed that the agreement contained all the minimum terms and conditions, was free from prohibited content, and was made in good faith. The Commission noted the evidence provided by both parties regarding the negotiation process, concluding that it was conducted appropriately and without any form of coercion. As a result, the Commission approved the agreement, confirming its compliance with the necessary legal standards. The approved agreement will now govern the employment conditions of the workers at the Kooragang Island site, effective from the date of the Commission’s decision.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established