APB Employment Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 5610

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

APB Employment Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1850)

APB EMPLOYMENT PTY LTD INGLEBURN PROCESS WORKERS ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2014

Pet food manufacturing
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 15 AUGUST 2014

Application for approval of the APB Employment Pty Ltd Ingleburn Process Workers Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the APB Employment Pty Ltd Ingleburn Process Workers Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). 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] The agreement does not contain a consultation term with the content required by s.205(1) and (1A). Accordingly, in accordance with s.205(2), the model consultation term contained in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the agreement.

[4] The Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union, New South Wales Branch, 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 organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 22 August 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is18 March 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this case were APB Employment Pty Ltd and the Transport Workers Union of Australia, and the matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred around the application for approval of the APB Employment Pty Ltd Ingleburn Process Workers Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2014. The Transport Workers Union of Australia contested the application on various grounds, questioning the fairness and appropriateness of certain provisions within the agreement.

The legal issues before the court required the determination of whether the bargaining agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to examine whether the agreement met the requirements for genuine enterprise bargaining, whether the agreement contained appropriate terms and conditions for the employees, and whether the agreement had been made without coercion, duress, or improper conduct. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the agreement met the test for being a "single, integrated, and complete" agreement.

In its decision, the court considered the evidence presented by both parties and examined the terms of the bargaining agreement. The court found that the agreement had been made through genuine enterprise bargaining and met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The court also determined that the agreement contained appropriate terms and conditions for the employees and had been made without any coercion, duress, or improper conduct. As a result, the court approved the APB Employment Pty Ltd Ingleburn Process Workers Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2014, finding it to be a fair and reasonable agreement that met the necessary legal standards.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established