DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2016/4818)

THE STONEMAN FAMILY TRUST T/AS STONEMAN CONTRACTING PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) DEMOLITION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 8 AUGUST 2016

Application for approval of The Stoneman Family Trust T/As Stoneman Contracting Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Demolition Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as The Stoneman Family Trust T/As Stoneman Contracting Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Demolition 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 15 August 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 Stoneman Family Trust, trading as Stoneman Contracting Pty Ltd, applied for the approval of the Demolition Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018. This application was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), an Australian federal statutory authority with the jurisdiction to determine disputes under the Fair Work Act 2009. The core dispute involved the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement, which sought to regulate the employment conditions for demolition workers in Victoria. The FWC had to determine if the agreement met the necessary standards set out in the Fair Work Act.

The legal issues before the FWC were whether the proposed agreement complied with the formal requirements of the Fair Work Act, including whether it had been negotiated in good faith and if it met the "better off overall test". The latter requires that the agreement must provide employees with at least the same conditions as they had before, either in terms of pay, conditions or both. The FWC also considered whether the agreement unfairly disadvantaged any particular group of employees.

The FWC found that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and met all the formal requirements under the Fair Work Act. The Commission concluded that the agreement was fair and balanced, and provided employees with at least the same conditions as they had before. The FWC approved the Demolition Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018, finding that it passed the better off overall test and did not unfairly disadvantage any group of employees. As such, the agreement was registered by the FWC, and became legally binding on the parties.

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