DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Euro Formwork Australia Constructions Pty Ltd
(AG2020/2841)

EURO FORMWORK AUSTRALIA CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020 – 2024

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 14 OCTOBER 2020

Application for approval of the Euro Formwork Australia Constructions Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2024.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Euro Formwork Australia Constructions Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2020 - 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Euro Formwork Australia Constructions Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On 22 September 2020 the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) contacted the Commission and requested that it be provided with documentation in relation to the Agreement. In accordance with its usual practice my Chambers did so on 12 October 2020. In this email my Chambers indicated that I was inclined to approve the Agreement. On 14 October 2020, the CFMEU advised that it had no comments it would like to make in respect of the application.

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 21 October 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 13 October 2024.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Euro Formwork Australia Constructions Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of an enterprise agreement. The agreement was between the company and its employees, and it covered a period of four years. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, and the matter was heard by the Full Bench of the Commission. The applicants, Euro Formwork Australia Constructions Pty Ltd and its employees, sought the approval of an enterprise agreement that had been negotiated between the parties. The respondents, a group of employees and a trade union, raised several objections to the agreement, arguing that it did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act.

The legal issues that the Commission had to decide included whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, including the mandatory terms and conditions set out in the Code of Fair Trading. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it was in the best interests of the employees. The respondents argued that the agreement did not provide adequate protections for employees and that it failed to comply with the mandatory terms and conditions of the Code.

In determining the matter, the Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and that it was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission also found that the agreement complied with the mandatory terms and conditions of the Code and that it did not contain any terms that were contrary to public policy. The Commission approved the agreement, subject to certain modifications that were made to address the respondents' concerns. The applicants were ordered to implement the modified agreement, and the respondents were ordered to withdraw their objections.

Euro Formwork Australia Constructions Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established