DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2016/4586)

CITY PROJECTS VICTORIA PTY LIMITED AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) PLASTERING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 28 JULY 2016

Application for approval of the City Projects Victoria Pty Limited and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Plastering Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the City Projects Victoria Pty Limited and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Plastering 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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[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 was approved on 28 July 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 4 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 matter before the Fair Work Commission concerned an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement between City Projects Victoria Pty Limited and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (Victorian Construction and General Division). The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was the body tasked with adjudicating on the application.

The central legal issues revolved around whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly concerning the procedural fairness in the negotiation process and the substantive fairness of the agreement's terms. The Commission needed to determine whether the union had genuinely bargained in good faith and whether the agreement's terms were fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was the product of genuine and good faith bargaining and met the requirements of procedural and substantive fairness. The Commission considered the process through which the agreement was negotiated, the content of the agreement, and the evidence presented by both parties. The Commission concluded that the agreement was fair and reasonable, taking into account the specific context of the industry and the bargaining process. The Commission approved the enterprise agreement, finding that it met all statutory requirements.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Plastering Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 between City Projects Victoria Pty Limited and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) be approved as a registered agreement under 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