DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The GFC Group Trust T/A GFC Industries Pty Ltd
(AG2021/5071)

GFC INDUSTRIES PTY LTD COLLECTIVE BARGAINING STRUCTURAL STEEL WORKSHOP AGREEMENT 2020

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 27 MAY 2021

Application for approval of the GFC Industries Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Structural Steel Workshop Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the GFC Industries Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Structural Steel Workshop Agreement 2020 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by The GFC Group Trust T/A GFC Industries Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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.

[4] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[5] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 3 June 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The GFC Group Trust, trading as GFC Industries Pty Ltd, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the GFC Industries Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Structural Steel Workshop Agreement 2020. The dispute arose when the applicant sought to implement the agreement, which was to cover its employees, without the consent of the Fair Work Commission, as required by section 229 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was opposed by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, which argued that the agreement did not meet the standards set out in section 230 of the Fair Work Act.

The legal issues before the court were whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under section 230 of the Fair Work Act, and whether the applicant had complied with the requirements for seeking approval of the agreement. The court considered whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient way of determining the terms and conditions of employment, and whether it contained provisions that were in the best interests of the employees it covered.

The court found that the agreement met the criteria for approval under section 230 of the Fair Work Act. The agreement provided for a fair and efficient way of determining the terms and conditions of employment, and contained provisions that were in the best interests of the employees it covered. The court also found that the applicant had complied with the requirements for seeking approval of the agreement. The court approved the GFC Industries Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Structural Steel Workshop Agreement 2020.

The court ordered that the GFC Industries Pty Ltd Collective Bargaining Structural Steel Workshop Agreement 2020 be approved as a registered agreement under section 176 of the Fair Work Act. The agreement is to be registered from the date of the decision and will remain in force until it is replaced or terminated in accordance with the Fair Work Act.

The GFC Group Trust T/A GFC Industries 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