E.J Lyons & Sons Pty Ltd T/A Lyons Construction

[2013] FWCA 4823

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

E.J Lyons & Sons Pty Ltd T/A Lyons Construction
(AG2013/7295)

E.J LYONS & SONS PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 19 JULY 2013

Application for approval of the E.J Lyons & Sons 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 E.J Lyons & Sons 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 E.J Lyons & Sons Pty Ltd T/A Lyons Construction. 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, will operate from 26 July 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 parties to this application were E.J Lyons & Sons Pty Ltd trading as Lyons Construction and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The dispute related to the approval of the E.J Lyons & Sons Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The Fair Work Commission heard the matter.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 for approval, including that it was in the public interest, free from any unlawful content, and met the minimum entitlements set out in the Act. A further issue was whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, as required by the Act.

The Commission found that the agreement met all the legal requirements for approval. The agreement was found to be genuinely negotiated and contained no unlawful content. It also met the minimum entitlements required by the Act and was in the public interest. As such, the Commission approved the agreement.

The final orders of the Commission were that the E.J Lyons & Sons Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015 be approved as a registered agreement under section 171 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered from the date of the decision.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established