Construction Contract Labour (Vic) Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 6516

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction Contract Labour (Vic) Pty Ltd
(AG2014/8843)

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT LABOUR (VIC PTY) AND AMWU METAL ENGINEERING ON-SITE CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT 2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOOLEY	MELBOURNE, 18 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Construction Contract Labour (Vic Pty) and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Construction Contract Labour (Vic Pty) and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU). 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 AMWU, 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 18 September 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 25 September 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Construction Contract Labour (Vic) Pty Ltd (CLL) applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for the approval of the Construction Contract Labour (Vic) and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2014. The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) opposed the application, contending that the agreement failed to meet certain statutory requirements for an approved agreement. The matter was heard by Deputy President G.J. Cohen, who dismissed the application.

The primary legal issue for the FWC to determine was whether the agreement complied with the necessary statutory criteria. The relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 were examined, particularly those concerning the content and form of an approved agreement. The FWC focused on whether the agreement provided for a minimum rate of pay, penalty rates, and other key terms. The AMWU argued that the agreement did not satisfy these requirements, and the FWC agreed. The FWC found that the agreement did not specify a minimum rate of pay for workers and did not adequately cover penalty rates and other key terms. The FWC held that without these essential provisions, the agreement could not be approved under the Act.

The FWC's reasoning was grounded in a strict interpretation of the statutory requirements. The Deputy President found that the agreement's failure to specify a minimum rate of pay and adequately cover penalty rates and other key terms rendered it non-compliant with the Act. The FWC dismissed the application for approval, emphasising that the agreement needed to meet all statutory requirements to be valid. The Deputy President concluded that the agreement did not meet these requirements and therefore could not be approved.

The FWC ordered that the application for approval of the Construction Contract Labour (Vic) and AMWU Metal Engineering On-Site Construction Agreement 2014 be dismissed.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established