DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2020/2806)

LININGS PTY LTD T/AS CUSTOM CEILINGS AND CFMEU ACT FINISHING AND FAÇADE TRADES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 29 SEPTEMBER 2020

Application for approval of the Linings Pty Ltd t/as Custom Ceilings and CFMEU ACT Finishing and Façade Trades Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Linings Pty Ltd t/as Custom Ceilings and CFMEU ACT Finishing and Façade Trades Enterprise Agreement 2020 (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 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 6 October 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 August 2021.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of an application for approval of the Linings Pty Ltd trading as Custom Ceilings and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union ACT Finishing and Façade Trades Enterprise Agreement 2020, the matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred on the application by the union and the employer to have the enterprise agreement, which was negotiated between the parties, formally approved by the Commission. The union sought to have the agreement certified as a single-employer agreement, which would enable it to be binding on all employees covered by the agreement without requiring individual employees to opt in.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it contained all the prescribed terms and whether it had been genuinely bargained between the parties. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement met the requirements for single-employer certification, such as the agreement being the product of good faith negotiations and covering a majority of the employees in the relevant bargaining unit.

The Commission found that the agreement did comply with the statutory requirements and had been genuinely negotiated between the parties. The evidence presented demonstrated that the union and the employer had engaged in good faith negotiations, and that the agreement contained all the prescribed terms. Furthermore, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement covered a majority of the employees in the relevant bargaining unit, thereby meeting the criteria for single-employer certification. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement and certified it as a single-employer agreement.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Linings Pty Ltd t/as Custom Ceilings and CFMEU ACT Finishing and Façade Trades Enterprise Agreement 2020 be approved and registered as a single-employer agreement. The agreement was to be binding on all employees covered by the agreement without the need for individual employees to opt in. The approval and certification of the agreement would provide stability and certainty for both the employer and employees, and facilitate the ongoing operation of the business.

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