DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Page Furnishers Pty Ltd
(AG2017/1173)

PAGE FURNISHERS PTY LTD – ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Timber and paper products industry
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 9 MAY 2017

Application for approval of the Page Furnishers Pty Ltd - Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Page Furnishers Pty Ltd - Enterprise 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 Page Furnishers Pty Ltd. 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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 9 May 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 16 May 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 February 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Page Furnishers Pty Ltd, an employer, sought approval of an enterprise agreement from the Fair Work Commission. The applicant sought approval under section 177 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute arose from negotiations between the employer and the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, the representative of the employees. The Commission, in the person of Commissioner McCabe, was tasked with determining whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Act.

The central issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement was in the public interest, as required by section 230(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine if the proposed agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms to address potential workplace bullying and harassment. This was a critical issue given the nature of the work environment and the potential for such issues to arise.

The Commission concluded that the proposed agreement did not contain adequate provisions to address workplace bullying and harassment. While the agreement included general provisions on code of conduct and dispute resolution, these were not specific enough to effectively manage and prevent bullying and harassment in the workplace. The Commission noted that given the potential for such issues to arise in the industry, more robust provisions were necessary. Consequently, the application for approval was dismissed.

No orders were made as the application for approval was dismissed. The Fair Work Commission did not grant approval for the proposed enterprise agreement due to the insufficient provisions addressing workplace bullying and harassment.

Page Furnishers Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established