The Australian Comfort Group Pty Ltd T/A Sleepmaker

[2014] FWCA 4281

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Australian Comfort Group Pty Ltd T/A Sleepmaker
(AG2014/1472)

SLEEPMAKER (TASMANIA) UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 26 JUNE 2014

Application for approval of the Sleepmaker (Tasmania) Union Collective Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sleepmaker (Tasmania) Union Collective Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by The Australian Comfort Group Pty Ltd T/A Sleepmaker. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] An undertaking has been given in relation to clause 47.2 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 A.

[3] 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.

[4] The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the CFMEU.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 3 July 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 27 March 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Australian Comfort Group Pty Ltd, trading as Sleepmaker, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Sleepmaker (Tasmania) Union Collective Agreement 2014. The applicant sought the approval of the agreement under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, which mandates the approval of agreements that have been registered with the Fair Work Ombudsman and certified as a single interest bargaining agreement. The applicant argued that the agreement was made in good faith and was in the best interests of the employees. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) opposed the application on the grounds that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act and that it was not made in good faith.

The Fair Work Commission considered the legal issues surrounding the approval of the agreement, including whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission examined the process by which the agreement was negotiated and the content of the agreement itself. The Commission also considered the evidence of the parties and any relevant statutory provisions and precedents. The Commission found that the agreement had been made in good faith and was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment and that it had been negotiated in a manner consistent with the principles of good faith bargaining.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Sleepmaker (Tasmania) Union Collective Agreement 2014, finding that it met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission found that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment and that it had been made in good faith and in the best interests of the employees. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for a range of benefits, including wage increases, improved leave entitlements, and provisions for flexible working arrangements. The Commission also found that the agreement had been negotiated in a manner consistent with the principles of good faith bargaining. The Fair Work Commission approved the agreement, and it will now be registered with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the Sleepmaker (Tasmania) Union Collective Agreement 2014 be approved and registered with the Fair Work Ombudsman. The Commission also ordered that the agreement be published on the Fair Work Ombudsman's website and that notice of the approval be given to the parties and their employees. The Commission noted that the agreement would be in effect from 1 July 2014 and would remain in force until 30 June 2018, unless terminated earlier in accordance with its provisions. The Commission also noted that the agreement provided for a dispute resolution process for any issues that may arise during its operation.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established