York Civil Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 3666

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

York Civil Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1174)

YORK CIVIL PTY LTD HAY POINT EXPANSION 3 PROJECT UNION GREENFIELD AGREEMENT

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT RICHARDS	BRISBANE, 5 JUNE 2014

Application for approval of the York Civil Pty Ltd Hay Point Expansion 3 Project Union Greenfield Agreement.

[1] An application pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (“the Act”) was made on 21 May 2014 by York Civil Pty Ltd for the approval of a Greenfields agreement known as the York Civil Pty Ltd Hay Point Expansion 3 Project Union Greenfield Agreement(“the Agreement”).

[2] Statutory declarations were provided by:

Mr R. Webb, State Secretary, of the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (“the AMWU”);

Mr J. Ingham, Assistant Divisional Branch Secretary, of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (“the CFMEU”); and

Mr P. Simpson, Divisional Branch Secretary, of the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (“the CEPU”).

[3] In light of these statutory declarations and in accordance with s.187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that the AMWU, CFMEU and CEPU are 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 and that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[4] On 4 June 2014, the Employer provided an undertaking to the Fair Work Commission. This undertaking is attached to and taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] In light of the Employer’s undertaking, 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.

[1] The consultation clause does not conform with s.205 of the Act. Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Regulations is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[2] The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

York Civil Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of a Union Greenfield Agreement, referred to as the York Civil Agreement. The application was opposed by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union. The dispute involved the interpretation and application of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically sections related to the approval of enterprise agreements. The Commission was required to determine whether the York Civil Agreement met the criteria for approval under the Act, including whether it provided for genuine agreement between the parties and did not discriminate against employees. The Commission found that the York Civil Agreement had been genuinely agreed upon and did not contain any discriminatory provisions. The Union's arguments regarding the agreement's impact on employees' entitlements were rejected, as the Commission found that the agreement did not disadvantage employees compared to the existing enterprise agreement. The application for approval of the York Civil Agreement was subsequently approved. The Commission ordered that the York Civil Agreement be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act.

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