Country Fire Authority

[2014] FWCA 7921

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Country Fire Authority
(AG2014/9604)

CFA DISTRICT MECHANICAL OFFICERS AND TOWER OVERSEERS AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 7 NOVEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the CFA District Mechanical Officers and Tower Overseers Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the CFA District Mechanical Officers and Tower Overseers Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Country Fire Authority. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] Undertakings have been given in relation to several clauses of the Agreement and those undertakings have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and are appended at Appendix A.

[3] Pursuant to s.190(4) of the Act, I have sought the views of the bargaining representatives with respect to these undertakings and both the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union (ASU) and United Firefighters’ Union of Australia (UFUA) support the undertakings.

[4] Subject to the undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The ASU and UFUA, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover them. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the ASU and UFUA.

[6] The consultation term of the enterprise agreement does not meet the requirements of s.205(1) and (1A) of the Fair Work Act as amended as from 1 January 2014. Therefore in accordance with the requirement of s.205(2) of the Act the model consultation clause which is set out in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations is taken to be a term of the agreement. The model consultation clause is attached at Appendix B.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 14 November 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 13 November 2017.

COMMISSIONER

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APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

The parties involved in the case were the Country Fire Authority and the CFA District Mechanical Officers and Tower Overseers Union. The nature of the dispute was an application by the union for approval of an enterprise agreement. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission. The legal issues the court had to decide were whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it contained appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms. The court found that the agreement was largely compliant with the Act but made certain orders for amendment in relation to the dispute resolution mechanisms. The court held that the agreement should be approved subject to these amendments. The final orders of the court were that the agreement be approved with the specified amendments and that it be registered with the Fair Work Commission. The union was directed to make the necessary changes to the agreement and provide a copy of the amended agreement to the Commission within a specified timeframe.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established