DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2016/7423)

DSF PTY LTD T/AS LA ROSA TILING COMPANY AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) TILELAYERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 12 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the DSF Pty Ltd T/As La Rosa Tiling Company 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 DSF Pty Ltd T/As La Rosa Tiling Company 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 19 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) involved an application for the approval of the DSF Pty Ltd trading as La Rosa Tiling Company and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) Tilelayers Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018. The applicant union, the CFMEU, sought to have the agreement approved as a modern award, arguing that it was appropriate to be made under section 188 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The application arose from a dispute between the union and the employer regarding the terms and conditions of employment for employees in the tiling industry.

The legal issues that the FWC had to decide included whether the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement were appropriate and fair, and whether the agreement was likely to promote higher wages and better working conditions for the employees. The FWC also needed to consider whether the agreement was consistent with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, including the requirement that the agreement must be in writing and must not discriminate against any person on the basis of sex, race, or other protected attributes.

In reaching its decision, the FWC considered the submissions and evidence presented by the parties and undertook a detailed analysis of the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement. The FWC found that the agreement contained provisions that were consistent with the objectives of the Fair Work Act and that were likely to promote higher wages and better working conditions for employees in the tiling industry. The FWC also found that the agreement was not discriminatory and was consistent with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. Based on these findings, the FWC approved the proposed agreement as a modern award, which will apply to employees in the tiling industry in Victoria from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2018.

The final orders of the FWC were that the DSF Pty Ltd trading as La Rosa Tiling Company and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) Tilelayers Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 be approved as a modern award under section 188 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement will apply to employees in the tiling industry in Victoria from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2018 and will set out the terms and conditions of employment for those employees during that period.

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