DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2016/4665)

BRENT YOUNG CRANES PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU MOBILE CRANE HIRING INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 1 AUGUST 2016

Application for approval of the BRENT YOUNG CRANES 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 BRENT YOUNG CRANES 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, 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 8 August 2016. 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 applicant, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Brent Young Cranes Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019. Brent Young Cranes Pty Ltd, an employer in the mobile crane hiring industry, and the CFMEU, a trade union representing employees in that industry, negotiated the enterprise agreement. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues the Commission had to address were whether the agreement was genuinely bargained, free from coercion or undue influence, and whether it contained all the prescribed minimum terms and conditions as mandated by the Act. The Commission also had to assess if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and if it complied with the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009. Furthermore, the Commission examined whether the agreement adhered to the provisions of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions) Act 2008.

The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties, free from coercion or undue influence, and it contained all the prescribed minimum terms and conditions. The agreement was deemed to be in the best interests of the employees as it provided fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also determined that the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 and the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions) Act 2008. Consequently, the Commission approved the Brent Young Cranes Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019.

The Commission's final orders were to approve the enterprise agreement, which would now be registered and in effect from the date of the Commission's decision. The agreement would apply to all employees of Brent Young Cranes Pty Ltd who are members of the CFMEU and would remain in force until the end of the agreed period or until terminated or varied in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

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