DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Tenon Joinery Pty Ltd
(AG2021/5596)

TENON JOINERY PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) SUBCONTRACTORS CARPENTRY AND JOINERY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020-2023

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 23 JUNE 2021

Application for approval of the Tenon Joinery Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Carpentry and Joinery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Tenon Joinery Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Carpentry and Joinery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Tenon Joinery 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] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 June 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2023.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, Tenon Joinery Pty Ltd, sought approval of the Tenon Joinery Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Carpentry and Joinery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023 from the Fair Work Commission. The respondents, the CFMEU, did not oppose the application but submitted that the agreement should be approved with modifications to Clause 17(b) and Clause 33. The Fair Work Commission was required to determine whether the agreement should be approved as is, or with modifications.

The court noted that the agreement was a greenfields agreement, meaning that it was intended to establish a new enterprise for the purposes of the Fair Work Act 2009. The court also noted that the agreement contained provisions that were not in accordance with the Fair Work Act, including provisions that were inconsistent with the Australian Building and Construction Commission's determinations, and provisions that were inconsistent with the relevant industry awards. The court found that the agreement should be approved with modifications to Clause 17(b) and Clause 33, to bring them into compliance with the Fair Work Act. The court found that the modifications proposed by the respondents were acceptable, and that the agreement should be approved with those modifications.

The court approved the agreement with modifications to Clause 17(b) and Clause 33, as proposed by the respondents. The court found that the modifications were necessary to bring the agreement into compliance with the Fair Work Act, and that the agreement was otherwise in accordance with the Act. The court noted that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace, and that it was in the best interests of the employees and employers covered by the agreement. The court also noted that the agreement provided for a transparent and accountable enterprise, and that it was consistent with the principles of the Fair Work Act.

Tenon Joinery 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