Brookfield Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 10201

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a greenfields agreement

Brookfield Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd
(AG2013/10095)

BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD - BROOKFIELD PLACE TOWER TWO AND CFMEU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2013

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 30 DECEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Brookfield Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd - Brookfield Place Tower Two and CFMEU Greenfields Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Brookfield Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd - Brookfield Place Tower Two and CFMEU Greenfields Agreement 2013 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Brookfields Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

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

[3] I am satisfied that the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the employee organisation to be covered by the agreement, is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 30 December 2013 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 6 January 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 December 2015.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Brookfield Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Brookfield Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd - Brookfield Place Tower Two and CFMEU Greenfields Agreement 2013. The application was made under section 235 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) opposed the application. The dispute centred on the terms of the agreement which sought to regulate the employment conditions of workers on the Brookfield Place Tower Two construction project.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement promoted the objects of the Fair Work Act and whether it contained appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms. The Commission considered the CFMEU's submissions that the agreement did not adequately provide for dispute resolution and did not promote the objects of the Act. The Commission also examined the terms of the agreement and the evidence presented by both parties.

In deciding the application, the Commission considered the overall effect of the agreement and the balance of the rights and obligations it established. The Commission determined that the agreement did promote the objects of the Act by providing for appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms and by including provisions that were in the best interests of the employees. The Commission concluded that the agreement was in the public interest and approved the application. The Commission found that the agreement was fair and appropriate, and it approved the application for registration of the agreement.

The Commission made an order approving the Brookfield Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd - Brookfield Place Tower Two and CFMEU Greenfields Agreement 2013 as a registered agreement under section 176 of the Fair Work Act. The agreement was registered on 11 July 2013. The Commission also ordered that the agreement be published on the Fair Work Commission's website. The CFMEU was granted leave to appeal the decision to the Federal Court.

Brookfield Multiplex Australasia Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established