Stramit Corporation Pty Limited T/A Stramit Building Products Summary

[2014] FWCA 4985

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Stramit Corporation Pty Limited T/A Stramit Building Products
(AG2014/1642)

STRAMIT BUILDING PRODUCTS ADELAIDE (CAVAN) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 24 JULY 2014

Application for approval of the Stramit Building Products Adelaide (Cavan) Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Stramit Building Products Adelaide (Cavan) Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Stramit Corporation Pty Limited T/A Stramit Building Products. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The consultation term of the enterprise agreement does not meet the requirements of s.205(1) and (1A) of the Fair Work Act as amended as from 1 January 2014. Therefore in accordance with the requirement of s.205(2) of the Act the model consultation clause which is set out in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations is taken to be a term of the agreement. The model consultation clause is attached at Appendix A.

[3] An undertaking has been given in relation to clause 11.3 of the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and is appended at Appendix B.

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

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 31 July 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 4 April 2016.

COMMISSIONER

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APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Stramit Corporation Pty Limited, trading as Stramit Building Products, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Stramit Building Products Adelaide (Cavan) Enterprise Agreement 2014. The applicant sought to have the agreement certified as a single-employer agreement for the purposes of the Fair Work Act 2009. The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was genuinely an enterprise agreement, whether it contained only matters that are bargainable, and whether it met the requirements of section 230 of the Act, which mandates that an agreement be in writing and signed by the parties.

The Commission considered the nature and content of the agreement, ensuring it was negotiated genuinely and not imposed, and that it did not include non-bargainable matters. The Commission examined the process by which the agreement was formed, including whether there was genuine negotiation between the parties. The Commission also assessed whether the agreement contained provisions that were outside the scope of what could be negotiated, such as matters that were mandatory and not subject to agreement. The Commission concluded that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and contained only bargainable matters, thus meeting the criteria for approval. The agreement was certified, and the Commission approved it as a single-employer agreement.

The court found in favour of the applicant, granting the approval of the Stramit Building Products Adelaide (Cavan) Enterprise Agreement 2014. The decision was made based on the evidence provided, which demonstrated that the agreement met all the necessary requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission's approval of the agreement was a formal recognition of the terms negotiated between Stramit Corporation and its employees, ensuring that the terms were fair and reasonable for all parties involved.

Stramit Corporation Pty Limited T/A 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