Dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd

[2021] FWCA 5937

[2021] FWCA 5937

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2021/6959)

DORMAKABA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD (FACTORY) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 22 SEPTEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd (Factory) Enterprise Agreement 2021

[1] Dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd (Factory) Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has requested that the Commission exercise the discretion available to it under s 586(a) of the Act to allow a correction or amendment to the proposed Agreement. The correction involves an amendment to clause 4.1(c) of the Agreement. The Employer submits that clause 4.1(c) of the Agreement incorrectly references employees classified at C6 to C9 of the Manufacturing and Associated Industries Award 2020 (the Award). The Employer submits that they do not employ C6 to C9 employees, do not intend to do so while the Agreement is in force and the inclusion of these classifications was in error.

[3] I am satisfied that it is appropriate for the Commission to exercise the discretion available to it to correct the Agreement in the manner proposed on the basis that the correction is administrative in nature only, and simply to ensure the Agreement accurately reflects what was agreed to and approved by the parties and the employees who voted to approve the Agreement.

[4] The Employer has provided a revised copy of the Agreement that contains the amended correction. It will now be published on the Commission’s website in place of the copy that was submitted to the Commission at the time the application was made.

[5] The copy of the Notice of Employee Representation Rights (NERR) provided to employees states that the Agreement is proposed to cover employees who are classified at C14 to C6 of the Award (inclusive). However, clause 11 of the Agreement does not provide rates of pay for employees classified at C6 to C9 of the Award. Further, the NERR was provided to a covered employee more than 14 days after the notification time. The Employer provided submissions and a statutory declaration as to these errors on 16 September 2021. I am satisfied having regard to those submissions and the Full Bench decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Ltd T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others 1 (Huntsman)that these constitute minor technical or procedural errors for the purposes of s 188(2)(a) of Act. Further, I am satisfied that employees were not likely to have been disadvantaged by these errors.

[6] Accordingly, notwithstanding the matters identified in paragraph [5] above, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2).

[7] On the basis of the material contained in the application, and the accompanying statutory declaration and the additional information provided by the Employer, 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.

[8] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s 183 of the Act that it seeks to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s 201(2) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[9] The Agreement was approved on 22 September 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 29 September 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE513199  PR734201>

 1   [2019] FWCFB 318