DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Beroa Australia Pty Limited ATF Beroa Australia Unit Trust T/A Beroa Australia Pty Limited
(AG2015/184)

BEROA AUSTRALIA UNIT TRUST T/AS BEROA AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED AND THE CFMEU VICTORIAN REFRACTORY (EXCLUDING LATROBE VALLEY) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013-2017

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 11 FEBRUARY 2015

Application for approval of the Beroa Australia Unit Trust T/As Beroa Australia Pty Limited and the CFMEU Victorian Refractory (excluding Latrobe Valley) Enterprise Agreement 2013-2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Beroa Australia Unit Trust T/As Beroa Australia Pty Limited and the CFMEU Victorian Refractory (excluding Latrobe Valley) Enterprise Agreement 2013-2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Beroa Australia Pty Limited ATF Beroa Australia Unit Trust T/A Beroa Australia Pty Limited. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

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

[4] The the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union 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, will operate from 18 February 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved Beroa Australia Pty Limited, trading as Beroa Australia Pty Limited, who sought approval for the Beroa Australia Unit Trust, as well as the CFMEU Victorian Refractory (excluding Latrobe Valley) Enterprise Agreement 2013-2017. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, where the central dispute was whether the proposed enterprise agreement should be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. The matter was brought before the Commission to determine the fairness and appropriateness of the agreement for the employees involved.

The primary legal issues that the Commission needed to address were whether the agreement met the "better off overall test" as stipulated in section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it complied with the "in good faith" requirement under section 231 of the Act. This involved assessing whether the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were no less favourable than the relevant award or safety net award, and whether it was made in good faith and not solely for the purpose of avoiding the operation of the safety net award. Furthermore, the Commission had to consider if the agreement was procedurally fair and if the employees had been adequately consulted.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement did indeed meet the better off overall test and was made in good faith. The Commission concluded that the agreement provided employees with terms and conditions that were at least as good as, and in some cases better than, those provided by the relevant award or safety net award. The Commission also determined that the agreement was procedurally fair, as the necessary consultation processes had been followed and employees had been adequately informed and involved in the negotiation process. As a result, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement and registered it under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Beroa Australia Unit Trust T/A Beroa Australia Pty Limited and the CFMEU Victorian Refractory (excluding Latrobe Valley) Enterprise Agreement 2013-2017 be approved and registered, effective from the date of the decision. The Commission's approval and registration of the agreement ensures that it will now apply to the employees involved and govern their terms and conditions of employment.

Beroa Australia Pty Limited ATF Beroa Australia Unit Trust T/A Beroa Australia Pty Limited

DECISION

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