Workpac Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 1967

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Workpac Pty Ltd
(AG2014/97)

WORKPAC PTY LTD NATIONAL PRECAST AGREEMENT 2013

Cement and concrete products
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 2 APRIL 2014

Application for approval of the WorkPac Pty Ltd National Precast Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the WorkPac Pty Ltd National Precast Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by WorkPac Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they wish to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] Fair Work Commission received correspondence dated 4 March 2014, which included further material in support of the application together with Undertakings made by and duly signed by the National Employee Relations Manager, proposed to FWC pursuant to s.190 of the Act (the Undertakings).

[5] I am prepared to accept the Undertakings. As provided by s.191 of the Act, the Undertakings are taken to be terms of the Agreement. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days after the issuing of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 April 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Undertaking

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Workpac Pty Ltd was the applicant in this matter, seeking approval of the WorkPac Pty Ltd National Precast Agreement 2013. The dispute arose within the Fair Work Commission (FWC), Australia's independent national workplace relations tribunal. The applicant sought to have the agreement listed on the Register of Approved Agreements, which would render it a legally binding workplace agreement for its duration. The opposition came from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), which raised several objections concerning the agreement's compliance with statutory requirements and fairness.

The central legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement was made genuinely in the interests of the applicant's employees, whether it met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it was fair and reasonable in all its terms. The CFMEU argued that the agreement was not genuinely made in the interests of the employees and that it did not comply with statutory requirements for approval. The applicant, Workpac Pty Ltd, maintained that the agreement was made genuinely and met all statutory requirements for approval.

The Commission, after examining the evidence and submissions from both parties, found that the agreement was made genuinely in the interests of the employees and that it met the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission held that the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its terms. The opposition's arguments concerning the lack of genuineness and compliance were not substantiated. Consequently, the Commission approved the WorkPac Pty Ltd National Precast Agreement 2013, and it was listed on the Register of Approved Agreements.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established