DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Ballestrin Construction Services Pty Ltd
(AG2019/1011)

BALLESTRIN CONSTRUCTION SERVICES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 24 JUNE 2019

Application for approval of the Ballestrin Construction Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] Ballestrin Construction Services Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as Ballestrin Construction Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided a written undertaking. A copy of the undertaking is attached at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and the undertaking will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Pursuant to s 202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application, and the accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 24 June 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 1 July 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 24 June 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ballestrin Construction Services Pty Ltd recently appeared before the Fair Work Commission in an application for the approval of the Ballestrin Construction Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019. The matter involved the terms and conditions of employment of the employees under the proposed agreement. The company sought to have the agreement recognised and enforceable under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around the fairness and compliance of the agreement with relevant legislative standards.

The central legal issues the Commission had to decide were whether the agreement met the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act, and if the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable in terms of the substantive content. Specifically, the Commission needed to assess whether the agreement was made without coercion, contained terms that were free from unfair content, and complied with the procedural prerequisites such as proper bargaining and the provision of relevant documents.

In reaching its decision, the Commission examined the process by which the agreement was negotiated and the substance of the agreement's terms. The Commission noted that the agreement was the result of genuine and good faith bargaining between the parties. It found that the agreement contained terms that were fair and reasonable, taking into account the nature of the business and the interests of the employees. The Commission concluded that the agreement was made without any element of coercion and that it did not contain any terms that could be considered unfair. The procedural requirements were also satisfied, as evidenced by the documentation provided and the absence of any procedural defects.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Ballestrin Construction Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019, deeming it to be compliant with the Fair Work Act. The approval means that the agreement is now binding and enforceable, setting out the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement.

Ballestrin Construction Services Pty Ltd

DECISION

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established