DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2016/6321)

RICAN CONTRACTORS PTY LTD T/AS RICAN GROUP AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) RIGGER/STEEL ERECTOR ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016 -2018

Building services
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 14 OCTOBER 2016

Application for approval of the RICAN CONTRACTORS PTY LTD T/As RICAN GROUP and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Rigger/Steel Erector Enterprise Agreement 2016 -2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the RICAN CONTRACTORS PTY LTD T/As RICAN GROUP and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Rigger/Steel Erector 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 21 October 2016. 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 Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMU) and RICAN Contractors Pty Ltd T/As RICAN Group were the parties involved in the application for approval of the Rigger/Steel Erector Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018. The dispute was heard by the Fair Work Commission, which was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the necessary legal standards to be approved.

The central legal issues the court had to address were whether the agreement adhered to the formal requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it complied with the process provisions of the Act. This involved examining if the agreement was made in good faith and whether it met the criteria for being a genuinely agreed upon enterprise agreement.

The court found that the agreement did meet all the formal requirements and had been made in good faith. It concluded that the agreement complied with the necessary process provisions. The court was satisfied that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties and that it met the criteria for being an enterprise agreement as outlined in the Fair Work Act.

Consequently, the court approved the Rigger/Steel Erector Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018. The agreement was deemed to be a lawful and binding contract between the CFMEU and RICAN Contractors Pty Ltd, effective from the date of approval.

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