DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2019/4393)

DOUGLAS FAMILY TRUST (THE TRUSTEE FOR) T/AS ARCWELD AND MDP ONSITE WELDERS GROUP AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2020

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 27 NOVEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the DOUGLAS FAMILY TRUST (THE TRUSTEE FOR) T/As ARCWELD AND MDP ONSITE WELDERS GROUP and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the DOUGLAS FAMILY TRUST (THE TRUSTEE FOR) T/As ARCWELD AND MDP ONSITE WELDERS GROUP and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 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 4 December 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 January 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Douglas Family Trust, trading as Arcweld and MDP Onsite Welders Group, sought approval of the Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2020. The agreement sought to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for employees of the Douglas Family Trust. The Commission was required to decide whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine whether the agreement was made in good faith, was free from coercion and was genuinely an agreement between the parties, and whether it met the "better off overall test".

The Douglas Family Trust argued that the agreement was made in good faith and was genuinely an agreement between the parties. The Trust submitted that it had engaged in good faith bargaining with the CFMEU and that the agreement reflected the outcome of that bargaining process. The CFMEU submitted that the agreement was made in good faith and met the better off overall test. The Commission accepted that the agreement was made in good faith and was genuinely an agreement between the parties. The Commission found that the Trust had engaged in good faith bargaining with the CFMEU and that the agreement reflected the outcome of that bargaining process. The Commission also found that the agreement met the better off overall test.

Accordingly, the Commission approved the Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2020 on 30 March 2020. The agreement is to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and will apply to employees of the Douglas Family Trust from 1 April 2020. The approval of the agreement is subject to the right of an employer or employee to apply to the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit Court for review of the approval under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

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