Klippa Pty Ltd Trading As Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust Summary

[2023] FWCA 2865

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Klippa Pty Ltd Trading As Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust

(AG2023/2973)

KLIPPA PTY LTD T/AS TOTAL PRECISION CLEANROOMS AUST AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) SUBCONTRACTORS CARPENTRY AND JOINERY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020-2023

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 8 SEPTEMBER 2023

Application for approval of the Klippa Pty Ltd t/as Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Carpentry and Joinery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Klippa Pty Ltd t/as Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Carpentry and Joinery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Klippa Pty Ltd Trading As Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy 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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 15 September 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for approval of the Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Carpentry and Joinery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023. The applicant, Klippa Pty Ltd trading as Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust, sought to have the enterprise agreement approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the legal standards for approval, including whether it was made in good faith and whether it contained the required minimum terms and conditions.

The legal issues before the commission included whether the agreement was genuinely made by the parties without coercion or pressure, and whether it contained all the mandatory minimum terms as stipulated by the Fair Work Act. The commission also had to consider whether the agreement would result in employees being paid less than the applicable award rates and whether it complied with the requirement to provide for a mechanism for resolving disputes. Additionally, the commission examined whether the agreement had been properly negotiated and if it provided for adequate employee representation and consultation mechanisms.

The Fair Work Commission found that the enterprise agreement was made in good faith and contained all the required minimum terms and conditions. The commission determined that the agreement did not result in employees being paid less than the applicable award rates and that it provided adequate mechanisms for resolving disputes. The commission was satisfied that the agreement had been properly negotiated and provided for appropriate employee representation and consultation mechanisms. Consequently, the commission approved the enterprise agreement, finding it to be fair and reasonable under the Fair Work Act.

The final orders of the commission included the approval of the Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Carpentry and Joinery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement was to apply to all employees of Klippa Pty Ltd trading as Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust who were covered by the agreement. The commission's decision provided clarity and legal certainty for both the employer and the employees regarding the terms and conditions of their employment under the approved enterprise agreement.

Klippa Pty Ltd Trading As Total Precision Cleanrooms Aust

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established