ACI Operations Pty Ltd T/A OI Sydney

[2013] FWCA 4486

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

ACI Operations Pty Ltd T/A OI Sydney
(AG2013/1444)

O-I SYDNEY TRADES WORKPLACE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 9 JULY 2013

Application for approval of the O-I Sydney Trades Workplace Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the O-I Sydney Trades Workplace Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by ACI Operations Pty Ltd T/A O-I Sydney. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] An undertaking has been given in relation to the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(2) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[4] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), The Australian Workers’ Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers those organisations.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 16 July 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 February 2016.

COMMISSIONER

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APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission was an application by ACI Operations Pty Ltd, trading as OI Sydney, for approval of the O-I Sydney Trades Workplace Agreement 2013. The application was brought under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking the Commission's endorsement of the agreement, which was intended to regulate the employment terms of certain employees within the organisation. The dispute centred around the procedural and substantive fairness of the agreement, with the Commission required to determine whether the agreement was genuinely made without any element of coercion or undue influence and whether it met the statutory criteria for endorsement.

The primary legal issues the Commission needed to address involved assessing the validity and fairness of the workplace agreement. These included verifying the agreement's compliance with the procedural requirements outlined in the Fair Work Act, including the adequacy of the consultation process and the provision of necessary information to employees. Furthermore, the Commission had to evaluate whether the agreement provided for fair terms and conditions that were not less favourable than the relevant awards or other industrial instruments. The Commission also considered whether the agreement was consistent with the objectives of the Fair Work Act, which include promoting higher wages and better working conditions.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission examined the evidence presented by both parties and found that the application met the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission determined that the consultation process was adequate and that the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were not less favourable than the applicable awards or other industrial instruments. The Commission concluded that the agreement was fairly made and in line with the objectives of the Fair Work Act. As such, the application for approval of the O-I Sydney Trades Workplace Agreement 2013 was approved. The Commission found no grounds to reject the application, affirming that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and did not undermine the spirit of the legislation.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established