DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2019/922)

ELITE BRICKLAYING SERVICES PTY LTD, EMPLOYEES AND THE CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT (ACT) 2017 - 2020

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 23 APRIL 2019

Application for approval of the Elite Bricklaying Services Pty Ltd, Employees and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Collective Agreement (ACT) 2017 - 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Elite Bricklaying Services Pty Ltd, Employees and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Collective Agreement (ACT) 2017 - 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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 April 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved an application for the approval of a collective agreement between the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and Elite Bricklaying Services Pty Ltd. The agreement in question covered the period from 2017 to 2020. The court was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the relevant legislation. The applicant, the CFMEU, sought to have the agreement approved to ensure its terms and conditions could be legally enforced.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the agreement adhered to the Fair Work Act 2009 and other relevant industrial relations legislation. Specifically, the court had to ascertain if the agreement was genuinely a product of free collective bargaining, if it complied with the provisions concerning minimum entitlements, and if it met the criteria for being a single, integrated agreement. The court also needed to consider if the agreement contained any provisions that could be deemed contrary to public policy or otherwise invalid.

The court found that the agreement was a genuine product of free collective bargaining and met all the statutory requirements for approval. It confirmed that the agreement provided for minimum entitlements consistent with the legislation and was a single, integrated document. The court held that none of the provisions in the agreement were contrary to public policy or otherwise invalid. Consequently, the court approved the agreement, allowing it to be legally binding on the parties from the specified period.

The court's final order was the approval of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union Collective Agreement (ACT) 2017-2020, between the CFMEU and Elite Bricklaying Services Pty Ltd. The agreement was to be deemed effective from the date of the court's approval and would govern the employment conditions of the employees covered by the agreement.

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