DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2016/5235)

FASONE GROUP PTY LTD T/AS AUSTRALIAN CONCRETE LOGISTICS AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016 -2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 29 AUGUST 2016

Application for approval of the FASONE GROUP PTY LTD T/As AUSTRALIAN CONCRETE LOGISTICS 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 FASONE GROUP PTY LTD T/As AUSTRALIAN CONCRETE LOGISTICS 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, 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, 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 5 September 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the FASONE GROUP PTY LTD, trading as Australian Concrete Logistics, sought approval of their Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 from the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The FWC was required to determine whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, including provisions that the agreement must not predetermine the outcome of a future dispute and must be free from coerced terms.

The primary legal issues were whether the Enterprise Agreement contained any terms that prejudged future disputes, which is prohibited under section 234 of the Fair Work Act, and whether any terms were the result of coercion, which would render the agreement invalid under section 235. The FWC also considered whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining requirements of the Act.

In its decision, the FWC found that the agreement did not contain any terms that prejudged future disputes or that were the result of coercion. The FWC noted that the agreement included provisions for the resolution of disputes through the existing dispute resolution mechanisms, and that these provisions did not predetermine outcomes. The FWC also found that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace, with provisions that balanced the interests of both parties. The FWC concluded that the agreement met all the requirements of the Fair Work Act and approved it.

The FWC ordered that the Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 between the CFMEU and the FASONE GROUP PTY LTD be approved, and that it be registered and published on the Register of Approved Agreements. The agreement came into effect on the date of the FWC's decision and will remain in force until the end of the agreed term.

Construction, Forestry, 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