Ruling puts agents’ fees in dispute

THE Master Builders Association believes the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union’s enterprise bargaining agreements have been made invalid following a recent High Court decision in the Electrolux v the Australian Workers Union case.

In that decision, among other things, a majority of the full bench of the High Court found that bargaining agents’ fees were not allowed in EBAs.

MBA industrial relations manager Kim Richardson said this decision was not limited to Federal industrial relations law and should extend to State IR matters.

The CFMEU’s EBA contains a bargaining agent’s fee to be paid by all non-union workers covered by the agreement.

But the WA Industrial Relations Commission certified a batch of CFMEU EBAs that included the bargaining agents clause just four days after the High Court decision was released.

Gadens Lawyers partner Allan Drake-Brockman said the decision would mean bargaining agents’ fees would not be allowed in Federal certified agreements.