DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2016/7759)

QA STEEL FIXING PTY LTD T/AS QA STEEL FIXING AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION)ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016 -2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 21 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the QA STEEL FIXING PTY LTD T/As QA STEEL FIXING and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2016 -2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the QA STEEL FIXING PTY LTD T/As QA STEEL FIXING and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) 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 28 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of an application for approval of the QA Steel Fixing Pty Ltd t/as QA Steel Fixing and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission was called upon to determine whether the agreement should be approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant union, the CFMEU, sought approval of the enterprise agreement, while the employer contested the application on the basis that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement contained all the prescribed terms and whether it was free from prohibited content. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it provided for proper mechanisms for its enforcement. The Commission also had to examine whether the agreement met the requirements for being a single, integrated agreement, and whether it complied with the process requirements set out in the Act.

In reaching its decision, the Commission examined the content of the agreement and found that it contained all the prescribed terms and was free from prohibited content. The Commission considered the process by which the agreement was made and concluded that it was made in good faith. The Commission also noted that the agreement contained proper mechanisms for its enforcement. After careful consideration of all the evidence and submissions, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement met the requirements of the Act and approved the enterprise agreement.

The Commission's final order was that the QA Steel Fixing Pty Ltd t/as QA Steel Fixing and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 be approved under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was approved as a registered agreement and will remain in force until the earlier of its expiry date or the making of a new 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