DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

USG Boral Building Products
(AG2016/6679)

USG BORAL BUILDING PRODUCTS PROPRIETARY LIMITED (WOODVILLE) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2019

Storage services
COMMISSIONER LEE	SYDNEY, 16 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the USG Boral Building Products Proprietary Limited (Woodville) Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the USG Boral Building Products Proprietary Limited (Woodville) Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by USG Boral Building Products. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] United Voice 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 of the Act, will operate from 23 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, USG Boral Building Products Proprietary Limited, sought approval of their proposed enterprise agreement for the period 2016-2019 from the Fair Work Commission. The respondents, who included various trade unions representing the employees, contested the application on various grounds. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, which is the body responsible for regulating and approving enterprise agreements in Australia.

The legal issues that the Fair Work Commission needed to resolve included whether the proposed agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it was made in good faith, and whether it contained the minimum terms and conditions of employment as specified in the Act. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement provided for genuine employee representation and if it was fair and reasonable in all its terms.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement was generally compliant with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. It found that the agreement was made in good faith, contained the minimum terms and conditions of employment, and provided for genuine employee representation. The Commission also found that the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its terms, taking into account the need for flexibility in the workplace and the interests of both the employers and employees. The Commission approved the proposed agreement subject to some minor modifications to address certain technical issues.

The Fair Work Commission approved the application for approval of the USG Boral Building Products Proprietary Limited (Woodville) Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019, subject to the modifications made by the Commission. The agreement will now be binding on the parties and will govern the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement for the period 2016-2019.

USG Boral 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