Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd

[2014] FWCA 1034

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd
(AG2013/10378)

AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LTD SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Pharmaceutical industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOOLEY	MELBOURNE, 11 FEBRUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd South Australian Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd South Australian Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (API). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] API 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] The National Union of Workers, 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) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 11 February 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 18 February 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (the "Applicant") sought approval of the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd South Australian Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the "Agreement") from the Fair Work Commission (the "Commission"). The Applicant's employees, represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, were the respondents. The dispute involved whether the Agreement met the statutory requirements for approval and whether it complied with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the Agreement was a bona fide enterprise agreement, whether it was made without coercion, undue influence or pressure, and whether it provided for the proper regulation of employees' conditions of employment. Additionally, the Commission had to determine whether the Agreement provided fair and appropriate mechanisms for dispute resolution.

In its decision, the Commission found that the Agreement was a bona fide enterprise agreement and was made without coercion, undue influence or pressure. The Agreement was found to provide for the proper regulation of employees' conditions of employment and contained fair and appropriate mechanisms for dispute resolution. The Commission approved the Agreement, noting that it provided for a fair and efficient means of regulating the employment relationship between the Applicant and its employees. The Applicant's application for approval was thus successful.

The Commission's final order was that the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd South Australian Enterprise Agreement 2013 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009, effective from the date of the decision. This approval ensures that the Agreement is legally binding on both the Applicant and its employees, providing a framework for the regulation of their employment relationship.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established