Weststate Energy Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 5541

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Weststate Energy Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1783)

WESTSTATE ENERGY PTY LTD ROY HILL AWU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 13 AUGUST 2014

Application for approval of the Weststate Energy Pty Ltd Roy Hill AWU Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Weststate Energy 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 Weststate Energy 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] 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 13 August 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 20 August 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 13 February 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Weststate Energy Pty Ltd sought approval for the Weststate Energy Roy Hill Agreement 2014 from the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The dispute arose between Weststate and the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), with the focus on the proposed agreement's impact on employees at the Roy Hill project. The legal issues at the centre of this case centred on whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), specifically sections 231 and 232, which govern the approval of enterprise agreements. Key questions included whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it was genuinely an enterprise agreement.

The Commission examined the process by which the agreement was negotiated and whether it met the statutory requirements. It considered whether there was adequate representation of the employees involved and whether the agreement reflected a genuine enterprise agreement, as opposed to a tool for circumventing enterprise bargaining obligations. The Commission also reviewed the provisions of the agreement itself to determine if they were fair and reasonable in all aspects. In its decision, the FWC concluded that the agreement did not adequately reflect genuine enterprise bargaining and did not meet the statutory criteria for approval. The Commission found issues with the negotiation process and the representation of employees, leading to the rejection of the application for approval. Consequently, the Weststate Energy Roy Hill Agreement 2014 was not approved by the Commission.

Weststate Energy Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established