DECISION

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

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2014/10095)

WGC CRANE GROUP PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU MOBILE CRANE HIRING INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 5 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the WGC Crane Group Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the WGC Crane Group Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring 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 12 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2015.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) applied for approval of the WGC Crane Group Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015 before the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The WGC Crane Group Pty Ltd is an employer within the mobile crane hiring industry, and the CFMEU is a trade union representing workers in that industry. The dispute centred on whether the enterprise agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues the FWC was required to address included whether the agreement was a bona fide enterprise agreement, whether it satisfied the coverage, procedural, and substantive requirements of the Fair Work Act, and whether it complied with the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT). The FWC also considered whether the agreement was free from prohibited content, such as provisions that would undermine the operation of the Act.

The FWC found that the agreement was a bona fide enterprise agreement and satisfied the coverage, procedural, and substantive requirements of the Fair Work Act. The FWC concluded that the agreement complied with the BOOT as it provided employees with improved pay and conditions compared to the applicable awards. The FWC further determined that the agreement was free from prohibited content. Consequently, the FWC approved the enterprise agreement.

The FWC approved the WGC Crane Group Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement provides for a period of four years, with provisions relating to wages, hours of work, leave entitlements, and other employment conditions. The approval of the agreement ensures that the terms and conditions of employment for employees in the mobile crane hiring industry are governed by the agreed terms rather than the applicable awards.

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