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ARTICLE · 06 NOVEMBER 2017

FWC Full Bench clarifies limits on dispute settlement powers under enterprise agreements

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The Commission has no discretion to deal with such disputes unless expressly authorised under the enterprise agreement.

AustraliaEmployment and HR
John Tuck
John Tuck
Christopher Leong
Christopher Leong
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A Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has provided clear authority on parties' obligations to comply with preliminary dispute settlement steps under an enterprise agreement, in The Australian Workers' Union v MC Labour Services Pty Ltd [2017] FWCFB 5032.

The FWC has no discretion to deal with such disputes unless authorised under the agreement.

THE FACTS OF THE CASE

The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) brought an application under section 739 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) for the FWC to deal with an alleged dispute about payment of overtime by MC Labour Services Pty Ltd (MC Labour).

The dispute arose under the MC Labour Services Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Labour Hire Industry Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 (Agreement).

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