MI & E Holdings Pty Ltd v Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia [2015] FCAFC 15

MI & E Holdings Pty Ltd v Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia [2015] FCAFC 15

The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission misapplied provisions of the Fair Work Act and the Transitional Provisions Act, erroneously concluding that clause 2 of the enterprise agreement could not lawfully exclude employees at sites with existing or expired greenfields agreements and that such employees (specifically those at the Worsley Project) were entitled to vote on the new agreement. The agreement did not express itself to cover those employees, and thus could not apply to them. This error constituted jurisdictional error, warranting the Full Bench's decision be quashed and the matter remitted for consideration according to law.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
24 February 2015
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review/application for Writs / Appeal From Fair Work Commission (full Bench) to Federal Court
Outcome
Application allowed; decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission quashed; matter remitted to the FWC for further determination according to law.
Legal Topics
['judicial Review' 'enterprise Agreements' 'employment Law' 'fair Work Act 2009 (cth)' 'collective Bargaining' 'greenfields Agreements' 'workplace Relations']
['industrial Law'] ['judicial Review' 'enterprise Agreements' 'employment Law' 'fair Work Act 2009 (cth)' 'collective Bargaining' 'greenfields Agreements' 'workplace Relations']

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Procedural Posture

Judicial Review/application for Writs / Appeal From Fair Work Commission (full Bench) to Federal Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the group of employees covered by the agreement was fairly chosen under s 186 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)' 'Whether the agreement was validly made' 'Whether the enterprise agreement covers employees covered by an existing greenfields agreement' 'Whether the existing greenfields agreement ceased to apply upon making of the new agreement' 'Whether the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission made a jurisdictional error']

Ratio Decidendi

The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission misapplied provisions of the Fair Work Act and the Transitional Provisions Act, erroneously concluding that clause 2 of the enterprise agreement could not lawfully exclude employees at sites with existing or expired greenfields agreements and that such employees (specifically those at the Worsley Project) were entitled to vote on the new agreement. The agreement did not express itself to cover those employees, and thus could not apply to them. This error constituted jurisdictional error, warranting the Full Bench's decision be quashed and the matter remitted for consideration according to law.

Court Disposition

Application allowed; decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission quashed; matter remitted to the FWC for further determination according to law.

Orders

  • ['The application be allowed.' 'A writ in the nature of certiorari issue quashing the decision by the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission dated 11 April 2013, in the matter of Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and others v MI&E...