DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2021/134)

LIMITLESS FACADES PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) SUBCONTRACTORS ALUMINIUM & GLASS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020-2023

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 10 FEBRUARY 2021

Application for approval of the LIMITLESS FACADES PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Aluminium & Glass Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the LIMITLESS FACADES PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Aluminium & Glass 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] The Agreement lodged contained a referencing error at clause 13.2. On 9 February 2021, the Applicant filed an amended page to the Agreement, fixing the referencing error, pursuant to s.586 of the Act. I am satisfied that the correction should be made and that it is appropriate to do so pursuant to s.586 of the Act.

[4] The title of the Agreement in the Notice of Employee Representational Rights was different to the title clause in the proposed Agreement. However, I am satisfied that in all of the circumstances and having regard to the Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others 1, this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purpose of s.188(2)(a). Further, I am satisfied that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to be disadvantaged by the error.

[5] 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 17 February 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

1 [2019] FWCFB 318.

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and Limitless Facades Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the LIMITLESS FACADES PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Aluminium & Glass Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023. The agreement was registered on 16 December 2020. The applicant, the CFMEU, is a registered organisation for the purposes of the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondent, Limitless Facades Pty Ltd, is a registered employer. The parties have reached an agreement in principle regarding the terms of a new enterprise agreement. The CFMEU submitted that it was appropriate to approve the agreement on the basis that it had been fairly and genuinely negotiated by the parties. The respondent also submitted that the agreement should be approved on the basis that it had been fairly and genuinely negotiated by the parties. The primary issue for the Commission was whether the agreement had been fairly and genuinely negotiated by the parties.

In determining whether the agreement had been fairly and genuinely negotiated, the Commission considered the evidence before it, including the submissions of the parties, the nature of the agreement, and any relevant factors that may have impacted the negotiation process. The Commission found that the agreement had been fairly and genuinely negotiated by the parties, taking into account the evidence and submissions presented. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that the parties had acted in a manner consistent with the principles of good faith bargaining. The Commission approved the agreement on the basis that it had been fairly and genuinely negotiated by the parties.

The Fair Work Commission approved the LIMITLESS FACADES PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Aluminium & Glass Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023. The agreement was approved on the basis that it had been fairly and genuinely negotiated by the parties. The agreement was registered on 16 December 2020.

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