DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2019/4160)

MRD FAMILY TRUST (THE TRUSTEE FOR) T/AS RMD CONCRETE AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2020

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 15 NOVEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the MRD Family Trust (The Trustee For) T/As RMD Concrete 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 MRD Family Trust (The Trustee For) T/As RMD Concrete 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 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 lodged contained an error at Appendix B, Pay Rates, Section 1. On 13 November 2019, the Applicant filed an amended page of the Agreement 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 22 November 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 January 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the MRD Family Trust (The Trustee For) T/As RMD Concrete were before the Fair Work Commission in an application for approval of the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2020. The CFMEU sought to have the enterprise agreement approved by the Commission, which would then apply to RMD Concrete and its employees. The application for approval was contested by the MRD Family Trust, who raised several objections to the proposed agreement.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically sections 230 and 231. These sections require that an enterprise agreement provides for certain minimum terms and conditions, and that it has been fairly and properly made. The MRD Family Trust argued that the agreement did not meet these requirements, citing issues with the process by which the agreement was made, and certain provisions within the agreement itself.

After considering the submissions of both parties, the Commission found that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission determined that the agreement had been fairly and properly made, and that it provided for all of the minimum terms and conditions required by the Act. The Commission also found that certain provisions within the agreement, which had been challenged by the MRD Family Trust, were not unfair or unreasonable. As such, the Commission approved the agreement, and it will now apply to RMD Concrete and its employees.

The Commission also made an order that the agreement be registered with the Fair Work Commission, and that it be given effect as a registered agreement. The MRD Family Trust has the right to appeal the decision of the Commission to the Federal Court of Australia within 21 days of the decision being made.

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