DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Metroll Queensland Pty Ltd T/A Metroll Building Products
(AG2017/115)

METROLL BUILDING PRODUCTS BRISBANE (MANUFACTURING) AGREEMENT 2016

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 14 MARCH 2017

Application for approval of the Metroll Building Products Brisbane (Manufacturing) Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Metroll Building Products Brisbane (Manufacturing) Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Metroll Queensland Pty Ltd T/A Metroll Building Products. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 21 March 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 July 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Metroll Queensland Pty Ltd T/A Metroll Building Products involved the application for the approval of the Metroll Building Products Brisbane (Manufacturing) Agreement 2016. The dispute centred around the Fair Work Commission’s authority to approve the agreement under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicants, Metroll Queensland and its associated entities, sought the approval of the agreement, while the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union contested the application.

The legal issues that the court needed to resolve included whether the agreement was a "modern award" as defined by section 162 of the Act, and whether the Commission had the requisite power to approve an agreement that purported to be a modern award. The court had to interpret the legislative provisions and determine the scope of the Commission’s approval authority in relation to modern awards. Furthermore, the court examined the nature of the agreement and its alignment with the statutory framework for modern awards.

The Fair Work Commission, in its decision, held that the agreement did not constitute a modern award. The court found that the agreement lacked the essential features required to be classified as a modern award. As a result, the Commission did not have the authority to approve the agreement under section 234 of the Fair Work Act. The court emphasised that the agreement was more akin to a traditional enterprise agreement and did not meet the specific criteria set out in the Act for a modern award. Consequently, the application for approval was dismissed.

The court's decision clarified the boundaries of the Fair Work Commission's approval powers concerning modern awards. The final orders of the court were that the application for the approval of the Metroll Building Products Brisbane (Manufacturing) Agreement 2016 was dismissed, and no approval was granted.

Metroll Queensland Pty Ltd T/A Metroll Building Products

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established