DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2017/4800)

HIGH EDGE GROUP PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) TILELAYERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 24 OCTOBER 2017

Application for approval of the High Edge Group Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Tilelayers Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the High Edge Group Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Tilelayers Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by 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 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 31 October 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for approval of the High Edge Group Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) Tilelayers Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018. The applicant, High Edge Group Pty Ltd, sought to have the agreement approved as a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement was made in accordance with the legal requirements of the Act and whether it contained the appropriate terms and conditions for employees.

The central legal issues that the Commission had to resolve were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties and whether it contained the requisite "independent" terms as stipulated by the Act. Furthermore, the Commission needed to ascertain whether the agreement had been appropriately certified by the relevant union and if it complied with the various procedural requirements under the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission examined the evidence presented and determined that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties and contained the necessary "independent" terms. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was made in accordance with the Act and that the union had appropriately certified it. Consequently, the Commission approved the High Edge Group Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Tilelayers Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 as a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the agreement be approved and registered, effective from the date of the decision. This ruling allowed the agreement to be enforced as a binding contract between the employer and employees covered by the agreement.

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