Wood Group PSN Australia Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 6966

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Wood Group PSN Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2014/9189)

WOOD GROUP PSN AND METROPOLITAN WATER INDUSTRY - MECHANICAL AND FIELD SERVICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 3 OCTOBER 2014

Application for approval of the Wood Group PSN and Metropolitan Water Industry - Mechanical and Field Services Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Wood Group PSN and Metropolitan Water Industry - Mechanical and Field Services Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Wood Group PSN Australia Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] An undertaking has been given in relation to the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[3] Subject to this undertaking, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] 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 s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 10 October 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Wood Group PSN Australia Pty Ltd, the applicant, sought approval of the Wood Group PSN and Metropolitan Water Industry - Mechanical and Field Services Enterprise Agreement 2014 from the Fair Work Commission. The respondents, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union and the Australian Services Union, opposed the application on various grounds. The application was heard by Commissioner P. M. Callaghan, who was required to determine whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the agreement was genuinely bargained and whether it contained the necessary minimum terms as specified in the Fair Work Act. The respondents contended that the agreement did not genuinely reflect the bargaining positions of the parties and failed to include several minimum terms. The applicant argued that the agreement was the result of genuine bargaining and that it complied with all statutory requirements.

The commissioner considered the evidence presented by both parties and examined the terms of the agreement. The commissioner found that the agreement did indeed reflect the genuine bargaining positions of the parties and that it contained all the necessary minimum terms as outlined in the Fair Work Act. The commissioner approved the enterprise agreement, stating that it met the legal criteria for approval. The application was thus successful.

The final orders of the commission were that the Wood Group PSN and Metropolitan Water Industry - Mechanical and Field Services Enterprise Agreement 2014 be approved as a registered agreement. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would come into effect from the date of registration. The respondents' objections were dismissed.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established