[2015] FWCA 8877

The attached document replaces the document previously issued with the above code on 23 December 2015.

By deleting the word ‘Company’ in the title.

Commissioner Gregory

Dated 23 December 2015

[2015] FWCA 8877

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2015/7620)

INDUSTRY ROOFING PTY LTD T/AS INDUSTRY CLADDING PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 23 DECEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the INDUSTRY ROOFING PTY LTD T/As INDUSTRY CLADDING PTY LTD and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the INDUSTRY ROOFING PTY LTD T/As INDUSTRY CLADDING PTY LTD and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the 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 application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the parties involved in the dispute were the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and Industry Roofing Pty Ltd trading as Industry Cladding Pty Ltd. The nature of the dispute was an application for approval of the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2015 under the Fair Work Act 2009. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The central legal issues before the Commission involved whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, whether it had been fairly negotiated, and whether it contained the appropriate terms and conditions to warrant approval. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Act regarding the classification of employees and the protection of workers' rights.

The Fair Work Commission found that the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2015 was a genuine enterprise agreement, had been fairly negotiated, and contained appropriate terms and conditions for approval. The Commission also found that the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act regarding the classification of employees and the protection of workers' rights. The Commission approved the agreement, noting that it provided a fair and reasonable outcome for all parties involved.

As a result of the Commission's decision, the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2015 was approved and is now legally binding on the parties involved. The final orders of the Commission required Industry Roofing Pty Ltd to recognise the CFMEU as the relevant union for the purposes of the agreement, and for the agreement to be registered with the Fair Work Commission.

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