Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Summary

[2013] FWCA 102

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2012/14211)

MENTES SHOPFITTING TRUST T/AS MENTES SHOPFITTING PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU SHOP FITTING MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2014

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 9 JANUARY 2013

Application for approval of the Mentes Shopfitting Trust T/As Mentes Shopfitting Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Shop Fitting Manufacturing Enterprise Agreement 2011-2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Mentes Shopfitting Trust T/As Mentes Shopfitting Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Shop Fitting Manufacturing Enterprise Agreement 2011-2014 (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 16 January 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2014.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved an application for approval of the Mentes Shopfitting Trust trading as Mentes Shopfitting Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) Shop Fitting Manufacturing Enterprise Agreement 2011-2014. The dispute arose under the Fair Work Act 2009, with the CFMEU seeking to have the enterprise agreement approved by the Fair Work Commission and then registered by the Federal Court. The Mentes Shopfitting Trust, the employer, contested the application on the grounds that the agreement did not meet the legal standards for registration.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the enterprise agreement contained all the required terms as outlined in the Fair Work Act, and if it was fairly and properly made. The court was required to examine whether the agreement was made in good faith, whether it was free from any improper influences, and whether it provided for a genuine collective bargaining process. Additionally, the court needed to determine if the agreement met the criteria for being a single, intelligible document, as required by the legislation.

In its reasoning, the court found that the agreement contained all the necessary terms as required by the Fair Work Act, including those concerning minimum wages, penalty rates, and other employment conditions. The court was satisfied that the agreement was made in good faith, without any improper influences, and that it represented a genuine collective bargaining process between the union and the employer. The court also confirmed that the agreement was a single, intelligible document that complied with the legislative requirements. Therefore, the court approved the application and ordered the registration of the enterprise agreement.

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