Finadri Windows Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 7522

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Finadri Windows Pty Ltd
(AG2013/10596)

FINADRI WINDOWS PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 30 SEPTEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Finadri Windows 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 Finadri Windows 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 Finadri Windows Pty Ltd. 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 7 October 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

Finadri Windows Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Finadri Windows Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) opposed the application. The dispute centred on the interpretation and application of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether the enterprise agreement met the legal requirements for approval.

The central legal issue was whether the enterprise agreement complied with the good faith bargaining requirement under section 228 of the Fair Work Act. The Commission needed to determine if the agreement was made in good faith, as defined by the act. Additionally, the court examined if the agreement met the criteria for being a "single, integrated agreement" as required by section 207 of the act, and if it was made without coercion, duress, or other unfair labour practices.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and without coercion or duress. The Commission determined that the agreement met all the statutory requirements for approval, including the good faith bargaining criteria and the need for a single, integrated agreement. The Commission approved the agreement, finding that it was fair and reasonable and met all the necessary legal standards.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Finadri Windows Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and met all the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. The Commission's decision was based on the evidence presented and the legal criteria set out in the act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established