Mega Plaster and Carpentry

[2013] FWCA 2044

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Mega Plaster and Carpentry
(AG2013/5763)

MEGA PLASTER AND CARPENTRY AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 5 APRIL 2013

Application for approval of the Mega Plaster and Carpentry 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 Mega Plaster and Carpentry 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 Mega Plaster and Carpentry. 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 12 April 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

Mega Plaster and Carpentry, a company in the construction industry, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Mega Plaster and Carpentry and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The application arose after the company and the union had reached an agreement on the terms of employment for workers in the industry. The Commission was required to determine whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it contained the mandated minimum terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement had been subjected to a proper bargaining process and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.

In delivering its decision, the Commission noted that the agreement was the result of good faith negotiations between the parties. The Commission found that the agreement contained the required minimum terms and conditions and that it had been subject to an appropriate bargaining process. The Commission also determined that the agreement met all the statutory requirements for approval. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Mega Plaster and Carpentry and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The approval is effective from the date of the decision and will remain in force until the expiry of the agreement or until it is terminated or replaced by a new agreement. The parties are bound by the terms of the agreement, and it will govern the employment conditions of workers in the industry for the duration of its validity.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established