DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd
(AG2017/1947)

AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES MELBOURNE DISTRIBUTION CENTRE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Pharmaceutical industry
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 4 JULY 2017

Application for approval of the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Melbourne Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Melbourne Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2017 (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. 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] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 11 July 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (API) sought approval for the Melbourne Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2017 under section 186 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission heard the application, with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union objecting to the application on behalf of a number of employees. The central issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the requirements of section 230 of the Act, which sets out the criteria for the approval of an enterprise agreement.

The Commission considered the provisions of the agreement in light of the criteria in section 230. Key issues included whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable method of determining employees' rates of pay and conditions, and whether it included appropriate mechanisms for resolving disputes. The Commission also examined the process by which the agreement was made, including whether there was genuine bargaining between the parties. The objecting unions argued that the agreement did not meet the fairness and reasonableness criteria and that there had not been genuine bargaining.

The Commission concluded that the agreement did meet the statutory criteria. It found that the pay and conditions provisions were fair and reasonable, and that the dispute resolution mechanisms were adequate. The Commission also determined that there had been genuine bargaining, despite the objections. The Commission accepted API's submissions that the agreement was the product of a genuine attempt to reach an agreement and was not simply imposed by the employer. The Commission approved the agreement under section 186 of the Act.

The Commission made orders approving the Melbourne Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2017 as a certified agreement. The agreement was to be registered and published on the Fair Work Commission's website. The orders also provided for the agreement to be in effect from the date of the Commission's decision, with certain transitional provisions to manage the implementation of the agreement.

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established