DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2020/1308)

JARA ENTERPRISES PTY. LIMITED / CFMEU COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2019-2022

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 23 MAY 2020

Application for approval of the Jara Enterprises Pty. Limited / CFMEU Collective Agreement 2019-2022.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Jara Enterprises Pty. Limited / CFMEU Collective Agreement 2019-2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by 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 30 May 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) sought approval of a collective agreement with Jara Enterprises Pty. Limited for the period 2019-2022. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, which is tasked with regulating industrial relations under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement complied with the statutory requirements for employee representation and the procedural fairness to which the employer was entitled. Specifically, the employer contested the union's representation of the relevant employees and the fairness of the bargaining process.

The court was required to examine the legitimacy of the union's claim to represent the employees and whether the employer had been afforded a fair opportunity to negotiate. This involved scrutinising the union's adherence to its own rules and procedures in endorsing the agreement, as well as the employer's right to be heard during the bargaining process. The court also had to consider the compliance of the agreement with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly in relation to the mandatory topics of bargaining and the requirements for making an enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the union had appropriately represented the employees and that the employer had been given a fair opportunity to negotiate. The court held that the union's internal processes for endorsing the agreement were satisfactory and that the employer's concerns about procedural fairness were unfounded. The agreement was deemed to comply with the mandatory topics of bargaining and other statutory requirements. Consequently, the Commission approved the collective agreement between the CFMEU and Jara Enterprises Pty. Limited for the specified period.

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