DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2021/5166)

M JAMES ENGINEERING PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) SUBCONTRACTORS CONCRETE PLACEMENT ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020-2023

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 27 MAY 2021

Application for approval of the M JAMES ENGINEERING PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Concrete Placement Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the M JAMES ENGINEERING PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Concrete Placement Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union. 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.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, 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 of the Act, will operate from 3 June 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission concerned an application for the approval of the M James Engineering Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Concrete Placement Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023. The applicant, M James Engineering Pty Ltd, sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute involved the terms of the agreement and whether it complied with the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements.

The legal issues the court needed to address included whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, whether it met the "better off overall test", and whether it contained the necessary prescribed terms. Specifically, the court had to examine whether the agreement was made freely and voluntarily by the parties, whether it provided employees with outcomes that were at least as good as their previous conditions, and whether it included all the mandatory topics prescribed by the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was validly made and met all the necessary criteria for registration. The court held that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties and that it provided employees with a "better off overall" outcome compared to their previous conditions. The court also confirmed that the agreement contained all the required prescribed terms. Consequently, the application for approval of the agreement was successful.

The Fair Work Commission approved the M James Engineering Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Concrete Placement Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023, making it a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act. The agreement will now govern the employment conditions of the employees covered by it, providing them with the terms and conditions set out in the agreement.

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established