Barro Group Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 4813

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Barro Group Pty Ltd
(AG2013/1914)

MOUNTAIN VIEW QUARRIES (SUNSHINE, PT WILSON, MAUDE, DONNYBROOK, NYORA & WYNDHAMVALE) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Quarrying industry
COMMISSIONER BISSETT	MELBOURNE, 18 JULY 2013

Application for approval of the Mountain View Quarries (Sunshine, Pt Wilson, Maude, Donnybrook, Nyora & Wyndhamvale) Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Mountain View Quarries (Sunshine, Pt Wilson, Maude, Donnybrook, Nyora & Wyndhamvale) Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). 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 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Workers’ Union, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2), I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 25 July 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 July 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in the case were Barro Group Pty Ltd and the Building and Construction Union of Australia. The dispute arose from an application for approval of the Mountain View Quarries (Sunshine, Pt Wilson, Maude, Donnybrook, Nyora & Wyndhamvale) Enterprise Agreement 2013. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The key legal issues addressed by the court were whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it provided for the proper representation of employees. The court had to examine the terms of the agreement, including the bargaining process and the extent to which the agreement covered the employees it purported to represent.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission noted that the bargaining process was flawed as it did not involve genuine and meaningful bargaining, and the agreement was not representative of the employees it sought to cover. The Commission also found that the agreement did not provide adequate protections for employees in relation to their working conditions and entitlements. As a result, the application for approval of the agreement was dismissed.

The Commission did not make any orders in the case, as the application for approval of the agreement was dismissed. The decision highlights the importance of ensuring that enterprise agreements meet the statutory requirements for approval and provide adequate protections for employees.

Barro Group Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established