DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Stramit Corporation Limited T/A Stramit Building Products
(AG2015/3844)

STRAMIT BUILDING PRODUCTS QUEANBEYAN (NEW SOUTH WALES) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 16 JULY 2015

Application for approval of the Stramit Building Products Queanbeyan (New South Wales) Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Stramit Building Products Queanbeyan (New South Wales) Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Stramit Corporation Limited T/A 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 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 16 July 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 23 July 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 March 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Stramit Corporation Limited, trading as Stramit Building Products, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Stramit Building Products Queanbeyan (New South Wales) Enterprise Agreement 2015. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was opposed by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), on behalf of certain employees.

The court was required to determine whether the agreement was a "bargaining agreement" under the Fair Work Act and whether it met the "better off overall test" (BOOT). The CFMEU argued that the agreement did not meet the BOOT because it did not provide employees with a pay increase over the period of the agreement. The applicant argued that the agreement was a genuine bargaining agreement and met the BOOT because it provided employees with improved conditions and benefits.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was a genuine bargaining agreement and met the BOOT. The agreement provided employees with improved conditions and benefits, including a pay increase over the period of the agreement. The court noted that the agreement was the result of genuine and meaningful bargaining between the parties and that it provided employees with a better deal than they would have received without the agreement. The court approved the agreement under section 232 of the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Stramit Building Products Queanbeyan (New South Wales) Enterprise Agreement 2015 as a registered agreement. The agreement was registered on 17 September 2015 and will remain in force until 17 September 2018, or until a new agreement is registered.

Stramit Corporation Limited T/A Stramit 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