Rutty and Breacher Flooring Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 5486

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Rutty and Breacher Flooring Pty Ltd
(AG2013/7790)

RUTTY & BREACHER FLOORING PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER BLAIR	MELBOURNE, 9 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the Rutty & Breacher Flooring 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 Rutty & Breacher Flooring 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 Rutty and Breacher Flooring 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 16 August 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Rutty and Breacher Flooring Pty Ltd, the applicant sought approval for the Rutty & Breacher Flooring Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The dispute was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an independent statutory body in Australia that deals with workplace relations matters, including the approval of enterprise agreements. The applicant, Rutty, a flooring company, entered into an agreement with the CFMEU, a trade union representing workers in the building and construction industry. The union and the employer sought to have the agreement approved as a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues for the Commission to decide were whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act and if it had been made in good faith. The Commission had to ensure that the agreement covered the appropriate bargaining unit, that the provisions were not contrary to public policy, and that it had been negotiated in good faith. Additionally, the Commission needed to assess whether the agreement met the requirements for being a "single-enterprise agreement," which is an agreement made between an employer and a union for a specific enterprise.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met all the necessary criteria for approval. The agreement was made in good faith and covered the appropriate bargaining unit, with no provisions that contravened public policy. The Commission also determined that the agreement was a single-enterprise agreement, as it was made between the employer and the union for a specific enterprise. Consequently, the Commission approved the Rutty & Breacher Flooring Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015 as a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act.

As a result of the approval, the agreement now has the force of a legally binding contract between the employer and the employees represented by the union. The terms and conditions set out in the agreement will govern the employment relationship between the parties until the agreement expires or is replaced by a new agreement. This decision reinforces the importance of ensuring that enterprise agreements comply with the requirements of the Fair Work Act and are negotiated in good faith to maintain a fair and balanced industrial relations environment in Australia.

Rutty and Breacher Flooring Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established