DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Australian Multiwall Bag Co Pty Ltd
(AG2020/992)

AUSTRALIAN MULTIWALL BAG COMPANY PTY LTD WORKPLACE AGREEMENT 2019

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DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 8 MAY 2020

Application for approval of the Australian Multiwall Bag Company Pty Ltd Workplace Agreement 2019

[1] Australian Multiwall Bag Co Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Australian Multiwall Bag Company Pty Ltd Workplace Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The application is generally in order, however I note that the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) issued to employees was not completed in the prescribed form as the content of the NERR duplicated Schedule 2.1 of Fair Work Regulations 2009 and failed to remove any paragraphs which were inapplicable. In all the circumstances, and having regard to the decision of the Full Bench in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others, 1I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s188(2)(a). Further, I am satisfied that the employees covered by the agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2) of the Act.

[3] 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[5] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 8 May 2020 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 15 May 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Annexure A

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

The applicant, Australian Multiwall Bag Company Pty Ltd, sought approval of a workplace agreement with its employees, which was to be implemented on 1 February 2020. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, with the Registrar, Mr R J H Thomson, presiding over the matter. The dispute centred on whether the proposed workplace agreement met the legal requirements for approval, including its compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The court was required to determine if the workplace agreement was a "registered agreement" under section 177 of the Fair Work Act. This involved examining whether the agreement was made in good faith, included certain mandatory terms, and had been subject to a genuine bargaining process. The applicant argued that the agreement satisfied these criteria, while the objector contended that it did not.

In delivering the decision, the Registrar noted that the application met the requirements for a registered agreement. The court found that the agreement had been made in good faith, included all mandatory terms, and was the product of genuine bargaining. The Registrar also considered the evidence presented by both parties and concluded that the agreement was fair and reasonable. As such, the application for approval of the workplace agreement was successful.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Australian Multiwall Bag Company Pty Ltd Workplace Agreement 2019, effective from 1 February 2020. The decision confirmed the validity of the agreement and ensured that it would be implemented as intended by the applicant.

Australian Multiwall Bag Co Pty Ltd

DECISION

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