DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2015/2454)

TAURUS JOINERY PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 27 APRIL 2015

Application for approval of the Taurus Joinery Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Taurus Joinery Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015 (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 CFMEU). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The CFMEU 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, will operate from 4 May 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2015.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission involved an application for approval of the Taurus Joinery Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The dispute arose from the union's assertion of its right to engage in protected industrial action in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The company contested the union's actions, claiming they were unlawful and detrimental to its business operations.

The central legal issues before the Court centred on whether the industrial action proposed by the union was protected under the Fair Work Act 2009 and the relevant enterprise agreement. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the union's actions were genuinely for the purpose of bargaining in good faith, as required by the Act, and if the terms of the agreement were consistent with the statutory provisions governing enterprise agreements. Furthermore, the Court examined whether the industrial action complied with procedural requirements and whether it was proportionate and necessary to achieve the union's objectives.

In its decision, the Court found that the union's actions were protected under the Act and the enterprise agreement. The Court determined that the union had genuinely engaged in bargaining in good faith and that the terms of the agreement were consistent with the statutory framework. The union's industrial action was deemed to be procedurally sound and proportionate, fulfilling the requirements for protected action. Consequently, the Court approved the application for the agreement.

The Court's final orders included the approval of the Taurus Joinery Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015, recognising the union's rights to engage in protected industrial action as outlined in the agreement. The Court emphasised the importance of good faith bargaining and the adherence to statutory provisions in the context of industrial relations.

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