DECISION

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

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2014/10789)

VISION JOINERY VICTORIA (VJV) PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 22 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Vision Joinery Victoria (VJV) 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 Vision Joinery Victoria (VJV) 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 (CFMEU). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 29 December 2014. 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 case before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for approval of the Vision Joinery Victoria (VJV) Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The central dispute was whether the agreement met the necessary standards for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether it contained the required minimum terms and conditions and whether it was free from prohibited content.

The legal issues the court had to decide included whether the agreement contained all the mandated minimum terms and conditions, whether it included any prohibited content, and if the agreement had been made genuinely and voluntarily by the parties. Additionally, the court needed to determine if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees covered by it.

In delivering the decision, the Commission found that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The agreement contained all the required minimum terms and conditions, and it was free from prohibited content. The Commission also concluded that the agreement had been made genuinely and voluntarily by the parties and was in the best interests of the employees. Therefore, the application for approval was successful.

The final orders included the approval of the Vision Joinery Victoria (VJV) Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015, effective from the date of the decision.

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