Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union Summary

[2023] FWCA 2604

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union

(AG2023/2668)

WEST VIC CARPENTRY GROUP PTY LTD T/AS KC CARPENTRY & CLADDING AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) SUBCONTRACTORS CLADDING INSTALLATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020-2023

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 22 AUGUST 2023

Application for approval of the WEST VIC CARPENTRY GROUP PTY LTD T/AS KC CARPENTRY & CLADDING and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Cladding Installation Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the WEST VIC CARPENTRY GROUP PTY LTD T/AS KC CARPENTRY & CLADDING and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Cladding Installation 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.

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.

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.

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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 29 August 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter involved an application for the approval of a new enterprise agreement between the West Vic Carpentry Group Pty Ltd trading as KC Carpentry & Cladding and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Cladding Installation Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, a federal statutory tribunal with jurisdiction over workplace relations matters in Australia. The Fair Work Commission is tasked with ensuring that enterprise agreements comply with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and that they have been fairly and independently negotiated between employers and employees.

The legal issues the court needed to address centred on whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), specifically whether the agreement had been fairly and independently negotiated and if it complied with the provisions of the Act. The Commission examined whether the bargaining representatives for both parties had genuinely negotiated in good faith, whether the agreement contained terms that were within the scope of the bargaining and whether the agreement was free from illegality and unfairness.

In its reasoning, the Commission found that the agreement had been fairly and independently negotiated, and all parties had acted in good faith. The Commission confirmed that the bargaining representatives had genuinely negotiated and reached an agreement, and that the terms of the agreement were within the scope of the bargaining. The Commission also determined that the agreement did not contain any terms that were illegal or unfair. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, ensuring that it met all legal requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

The Fair Work Commission approved the West Vic Carpentry Group Pty Ltd t/as KC Carpentry & Cladding and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Cladding Installation Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023, confirming its compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The approval was effective from the date of the decision and the agreement became binding on the parties involved.

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established