DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

RMA Civil Pty Ltd
(AG2019/656)

RMA CIVIL PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MILLHOUSE	MELBOURNE, 15 JULY 2019

Application for approval of the RMA Civil Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the RMA Civil Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by RMA Civil Pty Ltd (Employer). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (Notice) given to relevant employees at notification time for the Agreement did not contain the required content in the header of the document. It therefore was not consistent with the prescribed from in the Fair Work Regulations 2009. Nevertheless, I consider that the substance of the notice was unaffected by this omission. In the circumstances and having regard to the decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited t/a RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics and Others, 1
I am satisfied that:

(a) this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s.188(2)(a); and

(b) the employees to be covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error.

[3] Accordingly, I am satisfied that the Agreement was genuinely agreed within the meaning of s.188(2) of the Act.

[4] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 22 July 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 July 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Annexure A

1 [2019] FWCFB 318.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, RMA Civil Pty Ltd applied for approval of the RMA Civil Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019. The applicant, a small civil construction company, had reached an agreement with a group of its employees represented by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it provided for terms and conditions that were no less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award. The applicant argued that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and provided for terms and conditions that were at least as good as those in the relevant Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining, Energy Union Australian Building and Construction Instrument. The union submitted that the agreement should be approved as it provided appropriate safeguards and met all legal requirements.

The Commission found that the agreement had been made in good faith and contained terms and conditions that were no less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award. It noted that the agreement provided for appropriate safeguards, including a dispute resolution procedure, and met all legal requirements for approval. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated fairly and that the employees had been adequately represented by the union. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission orders that the RMA Civil Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019 be approved as a certified agreement under section 173 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The approval is effective from the date of the Commission’s decision.

RMA Civil 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