Stramit Building Products

[2013] FWCA 775

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Stramit Building Products
(AG2013/16)

STRAMIT BUILDING PRODUCTS - MARYBOROUGH (QUEENSLAND) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 5 FEBRUARY 2013

Application for approval of the Stramit Building Products - Maryborough (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2013.

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

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement is approved and in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 February 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 February 2016.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter involved an application for the approval of the Stramit Building Products - Maryborough (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2013, which was brought before the Fair Work Commission. The applicant, Stramit Building Products, sought to have the agreement recognised as a protected action under the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondent, the Transport Workers Union of Australia, opposed the application on the basis that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act. The court was required to determine whether the agreement complied with the statutory provisions and whether it was fair and reasonable.

The central legal issue was whether the agreement was a protected action under the Fair Work Act 2009. The court examined whether the agreement was an enterprise agreement, whether it was made in good faith, and whether it contained certain prescribed terms. The court also considered whether the agreement was unfair and unreasonable in the circumstances. The court had to balance the need for industrial peace and harmony against the rights of employees to be represented by a union of their choice.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was a protected action under the Act. The court concluded that the agreement was an enterprise agreement, was made in good faith, and contained the required prescribed terms. The court also found that the agreement was not unfair or unreasonable. The court was satisfied that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable resolution of the industrial dispute and that it was in the best interests of the employees. The court approved the agreement as a protected action, and it was registered with the Fair Work Commission.

The court ordered that the Stramit Building Products - Maryborough (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2013 be approved as a protected action under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission, and the parties were required to comply with its terms. The court also ordered that the application costs be paid by the applicant. The decision of the court was final and binding on the parties.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established