Mayfield Engineering applied under s.170MH of the pre-reform Workplace Relations Act 1996 for termination of two agreements which had passed their nominal expiry date. The company, which is part of the Leighton group, was concerned that the agreements had content which did not comply with the Implementation Guidelines for the National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry.
The agreements, the AMEC Engineering Pty Ltd National NDT Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2003 and the AMEC Engineering Pty Ltd South Australia NDT Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2003, covered employees of a business acquired by Mayfield Engineering.
AIRC hearings took place in Sydney on 10 and 30 April 2007. The AMWU argued that the AIRC should dismiss or refrain from hearing the company’s application because the company had allegedly breached the agreements, in particular a “Renegotiation” clause said to impose an ongoing obligation to negotiate with the AMWU in relation to a new collective agreement. Negotiations had started in early 2006 and had included protected industrial action after a ballot. However, by March 2007 the company took the view that negotiations had been exhausted. The company then negotiated for a new workplace agreement in the absence of the AMWU. SDP Cartwright concluded that the clause did not impose an ongoing obligation to negotiate or to reach agreement.
SDP Cartwright then dealt with the merits of the company’s application and determined that termination of each of the agreements would not be contrary to the public interest. The company argued that agreements that did not comply with the Code would harm Leighton Holdings’ ability to secure Commonwealth construction contracts. The AIRC ordered that the old agreements be terminated.