Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v North Goonyella Coal Mines Pty Ltd

In the matter of Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v North Goonyella Coal Mines Pty Ltd, the dispute involved the selection of employees for redundancy. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, Australia's workplace relations tribunal. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) sought to have the Commission deal with the dispute, arguing that the enterprise agreement provided for the Commission to resolve such disputes. The legal issues before the Court were whether the Commission had jurisdiction to deal with the application and who could properly commence a dispute resolution procedure under the enterprise agreement.

The court examined the enterprise agreement to determine the scope of the dispute settlement procedures and who could initiate them. The agreement specified that disputes could be brought by employees or their representatives. However, the employees who had originally made the application were no longer employed at the time the application was brought. The court concluded that the CFMEU did not have standing to bring the application on behalf of the former employees because they were not employed at the time the application was made. The court held that the Commission did not have jurisdiction to deal with the application since it was brought by an entity not covered by the enterprise agreement.

The court also considered whether the CFMEU could represent the interests of the persons in employment under the agreement in the Commission dealing with the application. It was found that the CFMEU did not have standing to commence a dispute resolution procedure under the enterprise agreement because the employees who were originally involved were no longer employed. Consequently, the application was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The court did, however, indicate that an earlier application made by the former employees should be heard.