DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Stramit Corporation Pty Ltd T/A Stramit Building Products
(AG2019/123)

STRAMIT BUILDING PRODUCTS AND TAUREAN DOORS SYSTEMS CRESTMEAD (QUEENSLAND) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 5 AUGUST 2019

Application for approval of the Stramit Building Products and Taurean Doors Systems Crestmead (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Stramit Building Products and Taurean Doors Systems Crestmead (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2018 (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 Pty Ltd T/A Stramit Building Products. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] The Australian Workers’ Union being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 12 August 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 October 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Stramit Corporation Pty Ltd, trading as Stramit Building Products, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Stramit Building Products and Taurean Doors Systems Crestmead (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2018. The respondents included various unions and employees, who contested the agreement on several grounds, including that it did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 for a valid enterprise agreement.

The legal issues before the commission involved determining whether the agreement complied with the statutory provisions for enterprise agreements, including whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it provided for the proper regulation of employees' conditions of employment. The court also had to consider whether the agreement met the requirement that it provide for the "better off overall test," ensuring that employees were not worse off financially by being subject to the agreement.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and complied with the statutory requirements. The commission considered the submissions of the parties and the evidence presented, including the processes undertaken to negotiate the agreement and the manner in which the agreement was finalised. It concluded that the agreement provided for the proper regulation of employees' conditions of employment and met the "better off overall test." The commission was satisfied that the agreement was fair and reasonable and approved it accordingly.

The final orders included the approval of the enterprise agreement, which will now govern the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement. The decision emphasised the importance of the good faith requirement in the negotiation and making of enterprise agreements.

Stramit Corporation Pty Ltd 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