DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2016/5782)

WESTGATE FORMWORK PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016 -2018

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 22 SEPTEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the WESTGATE FORMWORK PTY LTD 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 WESTGATE FORMWORK PTY LTD 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 29 September 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 matter before the court involved an application for the approval of the Enterprise Agreement between Westgate Formwork Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) for the period 2016-2018. The application was brought under the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking the Fair Work Commission's approval of the agreement as a registered instrument. The nature of the dispute was essentially procedural, focusing on whether the agreement met the legal criteria for registration and whether the process leading to its creation was fair and lawful.

The legal issues that the court needed to address included whether the agreement was genuinely a product of bargaining between the employer and the union, whether it contained all the required terms as stipulated by the Fair Work Act, and whether it complied with the provisions concerning the avoidance of industrial action. Additionally, the court examined whether the agreement contained any unfair provisions that would contravene the Act's objectives of achieving productive and sustainable workplace relations.

The court's reasoning involved a detailed examination of the agreement's content and the processes through which it was negotiated and executed. The court determined that the agreement was indeed a result of genuine bargaining between the parties, as evidenced by the negotiation records and the presence of all required terms. It was also found that the agreement did not contain any unfair provisions and complied with the legislative standards for workplace relations. The court's decision was based on the comprehensive evidence presented, confirming that the agreement met all the necessary criteria for approval and registration under the Fair Work Act. The final orders of the court were to approve the Enterprise Agreement as a registered instrument, effective from the specified 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