Stramit Building Products Summary

[2013] FWCA 8089

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Stramit Building Products
(AG2013/3004)

STRAMIT BUILDING PRODUCTS - EZIFORM, UNDERWOOD (QUEENSLAND) SITE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 15 OCTOBER 2013

Application for approval of the Stramit Building Products - Eziform, Underwood (Queensland) Site Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Stramit Building Products - Eziform, Underwood (Queensland) Site Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 22 October 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is31 August 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, Stramit Building Products, sought approval for the Stramit Building Products – Eziform, Underwood (Queensland) Site Enterprise Agreement 2013. The respondents, two unions, challenged the agreement, arguing it failed to meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The Fair Work Commission heard the matter, with the Commission needing to decide whether the agreement was appropriately certified and approved under the Act.

The central legal issue was whether the agreement complied with the criteria set out in the Fair Work Act for enterprise agreements. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement was free from prohibited content, genuinely an enterprise agreement, and if it had been fairly negotiated. The Commission also examined whether the agreement met the better off overall test, ensuring that employees were not disadvantaged compared to their previous conditions.

The Commission concluded that the agreement was appropriately certified and approved. It found that the agreement was free from prohibited content, was genuinely an enterprise agreement, and had been fairly negotiated. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the agreement met the better off overall test, as employees under the new agreement were not worse off and had the potential for improved conditions. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission granted the application for approval of the Stramit Building Products – Eziform, Underwood (Queensland) Site Enterprise Agreement 2013, dismissing the respondents' objections. The Commission certified the agreement as meeting the requirements of the Fair Work Act, thus enabling it to come into effect and regulate the employment terms between Stramit Building Products and the employees at the Underwood site.

Stramit Building Products

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established