DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2018/3229)

BS FACADES PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 27 JULY 2018

Application for approval of the BS Facades 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 BS Facades 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 3 August 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court was an application by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) for the approval of the BS Facades Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2016 - 2018. The applicant union sought the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) approval of the enterprise agreement, which outlined the terms and conditions of employment for employees of BS Facades Pty Ltd. The dispute centred around the procedural fairness and the substantive fairness of certain provisions in the proposed agreement.

The legal issues that the FWC was required to decide included whether the union had followed the necessary procedures to secure the employees' authorisation for the enterprise agreement, and whether the proposed agreement contained terms and conditions that were fair and reasonable. The FWC had to consider the process by which the union obtained the authorisation from the employees and assess whether the process was conducted in a manner that was procedurally fair. Additionally, the FWC needed to determine whether the proposed terms and conditions in the agreement met the requirements of being fair and reasonable, as per the Fair Work Act 2009.

The FWC found that the union had followed the necessary procedures to obtain the employees' authorisation for the enterprise agreement, and that the process was procedurally fair. The FWC also found that the proposed agreement contained terms and conditions that were fair and reasonable, taking into account the nature of the work, the employees' needs, and the employer's business. The FWC approved the enterprise agreement, subject to certain minor modifications. The applicant union's application for the approval of the BS Facades Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2016 - 2018 was ultimately successful.

The FWC's final orders included the approval of the enterprise agreement, with certain modifications, and the establishment of a transitional period during which the agreement would be in effect. The FWC also ordered that the agreement would be registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) and that it would be binding on all employees of BS Facades Pty Ltd covered by the agreement. The court's decision provided clarity and certainty to both the employer and the employees regarding the terms and conditions of their employment, and the legal issues surrounding the procedural and substantive fairness of the proposed agreement were resolved.

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