Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Summary

[2014] FWCA 65

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2013/12035)

VICTORIAN DESIGNER FLOORS PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 6 JANUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Victorian Designer Floors 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 Victorian Designer Floors 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, 187 and 188 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 13 January 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 applicants in this case were the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), a registered trade union, and the respondents were various employers in the building and construction industry in Victoria. The dispute centred around the application for approval of the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015, which aimed to regulate the employment conditions of workers within the industry. The case was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), an Australian federal statutory body responsible for the resolution of workplace disputes and the regulation of enterprise agreements.

The legal issues the FWC was required to decide included whether the proposed agreement was an enterprise agreement as defined under the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it was an appropriate agreement for the purpose of meeting the objectives of the Act. Additionally, the FWC needed to determine whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Act, such as the coverage, duration, and process of its negotiation and approval. The FWC also had to consider whether the agreement met the standards of good faith bargaining and if the agreement was fair and reasonable for the employees and employers involved.

In its decision, the FWC found that the proposed agreement was indeed an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009, as it covered the building and construction industry and was negotiated in good faith between the union and the employers. The FWC determined that the agreement met the objectives of the Act and complied with its requirements. The FWC further concluded that the agreement was fair and reasonable for both the employees and employers, taking into account the economic context, the needs of the industry, and the interests of the parties involved. As a result, the FWC approved the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015.

The FWC's final orders were to approve the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015, which would then come into effect as a legally binding agreement between the union, employers, and employees within the building and construction industry in Victoria. The approval granted by the FWC would ensure that the agreement would regulate the employment conditions of the workers in the industry and provide a framework for the resolution of workplace disputes in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established