DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2018/5272)

BECCA'S FLOORING SERVICES PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2018

Cement and concrete products
COMMISSIONER WILSON	CANBERRA, 5 OCTOBER 2018

Application for approval of the BECCA'S FLOORING SERVICES PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the BECCA’S FLOORING SERVICES PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 (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 12 October 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2018.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for approval of the Enterprise Agreement between BECCA'S FLOORING SERVICES PTY LTD and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) for the period 2016-2018. The Applicant, BECCA'S FLOORING SERVICES PTY LTD, sought to have the agreement approved under the Fair Work Act 2009, while the Respondent, CFMEU, argued that certain provisions of the agreement should be disallowed on the grounds that they contravened the Act.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the provisions of the Enterprise Agreement contravened the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether they dealt with matters that were not negotiable, or whether they contained terms that were contrary to the Act's purpose of providing for a fair and effective system of enterprise bargaining. The Court was required to determine whether the agreement met the requirements of the Act, and whether it contained any provisions that were outside the scope of lawful enterprise agreements.

The Court found that the Enterprise Agreement did not contain any terms that were outside the scope of lawful enterprise agreements. The Court held that the provisions of the agreement did not contravene the Fair Work Act 2009 and were within the scope of lawful enterprise agreements. The Court was satisfied that the agreement dealt with matters that were negotiable, and that the provisions of the agreement did not contain terms that were contrary to the Act's purpose. The Court found that the agreement provided for a fair and effective system of enterprise bargaining and approved the Enterprise Agreement. The Court ordered that the Enterprise Agreement be approved as a registered agreement under 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