DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Siphonic Solutions Australia Pty Ltd T/A Siphonic Solutions
(AG2019/1947)

SIPHONIC SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT	PERTH, 16 AUGUST 2019

Application for approval of the Siphonic Solutions Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] Siphonic Solutions Australia Pty Ltd T/A Siphonic Solutions (Siphonic) has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Siphonic Solutions Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] Siphonic issued a Notice of Employee Representational Rights (Notice) in letter format. The substantive content of the Notice is unaltered. While I do not consider that the format of the letter is of issue, if it were to be the case that it was, having regard to the decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited t/a RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics and Others, I would nevertheless be satisfied that: a) this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s 188(2)(a); and b) the employees to be covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. Accordingly, I am satisfied that the Agreement was genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2) of the Act.

[3] Siphonic has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings are attached as Annexure A. In compliance with s 190(4) of the Act, the bargaining representative’s views regarding the undertakings proffered were sought. No objections were raised.

[4] 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.

[5] Siphonic applied for an amendment to its Form F17 under s 586. Have considered the application, I am content for the amendment to be made. At Question 2.10 of the Form F17 the word none will be replaced with nine.

[6] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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.

[7] The Agreement was approved on 16 August 2109 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 23 August 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

In the case of Siphonic Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Siphonic Solutions, the Fair Work Commission was called upon to determine the validity and approval of an enterprise agreement for the purposes of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around whether the agreement met the necessary criteria under the Act for it to be registered and enforced.

The primary legal issues the Commission needed to resolve were whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Fair Work Act and whether it had been made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act. This included verifying whether the agreement had been made free from any improper conduct or coercion. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement would promote harmonious, productive, and cooperative workplace relationships, as required by the Act.

The Commission examined the submissions and evidence provided by the parties and found that the agreement contained all the necessary mandatory terms. The procedural requirements were also satisfied, with the Commission determining that the agreement had been made free from any coercion or improper conduct. Furthermore, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement would foster harmonious, productive, and cooperative workplace relationships. Based on these findings, the Commission approved the agreement under section 191 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Siphonic Solutions Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019, and it is now registered and enforceable under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Siphonic Solutions Australia Pty Ltd T/A Siphonic Solutions

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established