DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2017/719)

TOOHEY FAMILY TRUST T/AS KOMP CRANES PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU MOBILE CRANE HIRING INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016 -2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 24 MARCH 2017

Application for approval of the Toohey Family Trust t/as Komp Cranes Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016 -2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Toohey Family Trust t/as Komp Cranes Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016 -2019 (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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[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 was approved on 24 March 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 31 March 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2019

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in the dispute were the Toohey Family Trust trading as Komp Cranes Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The dispute centred around the approval of the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, which has jurisdiction over such matters.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to decide involved the validity and fairness of the proposed enterprise agreement. This included whether the agreement was genuinely a product of agreement between the parties, whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it met the requirements for being an enterprise agreement under the Act. Additionally, the Commission had to determine if the agreement contained appropriate dispute resolution processes and if it was consistent with the principles of the Australian labour market.

In considering these issues, the Commission noted that the agreement was negotiated in good faith and contained provisions that were fair and reasonable. The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely a product of agreement between the parties and that it complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The Commission also found that the agreement contained appropriate dispute resolution processes and that it was consistent with the principles of the Australian labour market. Accordingly, the Commission approved the agreement, and its provisions became binding on the parties from the date of the decision.

As a result of the Commission's decision, the Toohey Family Trust trading as Komp Cranes Pty Ltd and the CFMEU were bound by the terms of the CFMEU Mobile Crane Hiring Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019, which provided for the wages, conditions, and other terms and conditions of employment for the mobile crane hiring industry.

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