Welltech Total Water Management

[2014] FWCA 6619

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Welltech Total Water Management
(AG2014/7285)

WELLTECH ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 24 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Welltech Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Welltech 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 Welltech Total Water Management. 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] Pursuant to s. 205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 24 September 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 1 October 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 24 March 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Welltech Total Water Management, applied for approval of the Welltech Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant's application was opposed by the Australian Workers' Union, who argued that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the requirements of section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, whether it was negotiated in good faith, and whether it provided for a fair and reasonable method of determining the wages and conditions of employment. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of disputes.

The Commission found that the agreement met the requirements of the Act. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable method of determining wages and conditions of employment, and that it provided for appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of disputes. The Commission also found that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, and that it had been negotiated in good faith. The Commission therefore approved the agreement under section 234 of the Act.

The Commission made an order approving the Welltech Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014, and directed that a copy of the approved agreement be registered with the Commission. The Commission also directed that the agreement be given effect as a registered agreement under the Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

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Background to the litigation

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