Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union-Victoria Branch

[2013] FWCA 109

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union-Victoria Branch
(AG2012/14228)

CITI-CON (VIC) PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 9 JANUARY 2013

Application for approval of the Citi-Con (Vic) Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Citi-Con (Vic) Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). 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 CFMEU, 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, will operate from 16 January 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2015.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court was an application for the approval of the Citi-Con (Vic) Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission by the Union, seeking to have the agreement approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The employer, Citi-Con (Vic) Pty Ltd, did not oppose the application.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including the provisions concerning the making of a registered agreement. The Commission needed to consider whether the agreement met the standards for good faith bargaining, the inclusion of terms and conditions of employment, and whether the agreement was fair and reasonable.

The Commission found that the agreement satisfied all the requirements of the Fair Work Act. It determined that the agreement was the product of genuine and good faith bargaining between the employer and the union. The agreement contained terms and conditions of employment that were fair and reasonable, and it complied with the provisions of the Act. The Commission concluded that the agreement met all necessary criteria and approved the agreement as a registered enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Citi-Con (Vic) Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015 as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established