DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Beenleigh Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd
(AG2016/2869)

BEENLEIGH STEEL FABRICATIONS UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 31 MAY 2016

Application for approval of the Beenleigh Steel Fabrications Union Collective Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Beenleigh Steel Fabrications Union Collective Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Beenleigh Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 June 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 28 February 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Beenleigh Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd, sought approval of the Beenleigh Steel Fabrications Union Collective Agreement 2015. The respondent, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, opposed the application on various grounds, including that the agreement did not comply with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was a "registered agreement" as defined in the Act and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining provisions of the Act. The Commission had to determine if the agreement was made in good faith, if it contained the necessary minimum terms, and if it was consistent with the objects of the Act.

The Commission found that the agreement was a "registered agreement" as it had been made between the employer and a registered union. However, it found that the agreement did not comply with the good faith bargaining provisions of the Act, as the employer had not provided the union with sufficient information to enable meaningful bargaining. The Commission also found that the agreement did not contain the necessary minimum terms, as it did not include provisions for minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment. As a result, the Commission refused to approve the agreement.

The Commission ordered that the application for approval of the Beenleigh Steel Fabrications Union Collective Agreement 2015 be dismissed. The employer was required to provide the union with the necessary information to enable meaningful bargaining and to negotiate a new agreement that complied with the requirements of the Act.

Beenleigh Steel Fabrications Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established