DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2018/5439)

P & D RIGGING & CRANE HIRE PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU MOBILE CRANE HIRING INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 10 OCTOBER 2018

Application for approval of the P & D Rigging & Crane Hire Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the P & D Rigging & Crane Hire Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019 (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 17 October 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union sought approval of the P & D Rigging & Crane Hire Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019, a proposed enterprise agreement to be applied to employees of P & D Rigging & Crane Hire Pty Ltd. The applicant argued that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement and was in compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute was heard in the Fair Work Commission, the primary Australian tribunal responsible for the resolution of workplace disputes and the administration of the Fair Work Act.

The central legal issue the Commission had to address was whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement and whether it complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement was made in good faith and without the coercion of employer or employee representatives, if it was an enterprise agreement, if the relevant employees had been adequately consulted, and if the agreement contained all the prescribed terms. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement met the criteria for being a single interest or multi-enterprise agreement.

The Commission found that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement. The Commission accepted the evidence of the applicant and employer representative that the agreement had been made in good faith and without coercion. The Commission also found that the agreement was an enterprise agreement, as it was an agreement between an employer and employees in an enterprise. The Commission noted that the agreement had been the subject of adequate consultation and contained all the prescribed terms. The Commission concluded that the agreement met the criteria for being a single interest enterprise agreement. The Commission approved the agreement on the basis that it was a genuine enterprise agreement and was in compliance with the Fair Work Act.

The Commission approved the P & D Rigging & Crane Hire Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019, and made an order that the agreement be registered by the Registrar of the Fair Work Commission. The agreement became a registered agreement and was binding on the employer, employees, and their respective organisations. The approval of the agreement meant that the terms and conditions of employment of the employees of P & D Rigging & Crane Hire Pty Ltd were governed by the agreement for the period of its registration.

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