DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

CSR Building Products Limited T/A CSR Lightweight Systems
(AG2017/3548)

CSR LIMITED COOPERS PLAINS QLD ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 2 OCTOBER 2017

Application for approval of the CSR Limited Coopers Plains QLD Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the CSR Limited Coopers Plains QLD Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by CSR Building Products Limited T/A CSR Lightweight Systems. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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.

[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 Australian Workers’ 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 9 October 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 October 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

CSR Building Products Limited, trading as CSR Lightweight Systems, applied for approval of the CSR Limited Coopers Plains, Queensland Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2017. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The dispute centred around whether the agreement met the requirements of section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The FWC had to determine if the agreement was in the interests of employees and employers, if it allowed for individual flexibility, and if it contained appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms.

The primary legal issue was whether the proposed agreement adequately provided for individual flexibility as required by section 232(4)(a) of the Act. CSR Lightweight Systems argued that the agreement sufficiently provided for individual flexibility through the inclusion of individual flexibility clauses and appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms. The union argued that the agreement did not meet the requirements for individual flexibility and that the dispute resolution mechanisms were inadequate.

The FWC found that the agreement contained individual flexibility clauses that were consistent with the requirements of the Act. The FWC also found that the agreement contained appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms, including a requirement for good faith bargaining and the availability of mediation and conciliation services. The FWC approved the agreement on the basis that it met the requirements of section 232 of the Act. The union's concerns about individual flexibility and dispute resolution were addressed by the FWC's findings.

The FWC approved the CSR Limited Coopers Plains, Queensland Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2017, effective from 1 July 2017. The union's application for review of the decision was dismissed.

CSR Building Products Limited T/A CSR Lightweight Systems

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established