DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Baiada Farms Pty Ltd
(AG2015/370)

BAIADA FARMS PTY LIMITED LAVERTON (MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015-2018

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 25 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the Baiada Farms Pty Limited Laverton (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2015-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Baiada Farms Pty Limited Laverton (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2015-2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Baiada Farms Pty Ltd. 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 clause 13.4 of the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[4] Each of the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), being bargaining representatives 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 AMWU and CEPU.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 1 April 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 9 February 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Baiada Farms Pty Ltd was a matter heard by the Fair Work Commission, where the issue was the application for the approval of the Baiada Farms Pty Limited Laverton (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2015-2018. The dispute arose as the respondent, Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, sought approval of the agreement, while the applicant, Baiada Farms Pty Ltd, objected on several grounds.

The legal issues before the Commission involved determining whether the agreement met the requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009 for an enterprise agreement to be approved. Specifically, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement was genuinely a bargain between the parties, was free from coercion and undue influence, and whether it complied with the "better off overall test." Additionally, the Commission examined whether the agreement contained terms that were inconsistent with the National Employment Standards and whether it had been properly certified as a single, indivisible agreement.

In assessing the matter, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval. The Commission determined that the agreement was genuinely a product of negotiations between the parties and was free from any undue influence or coercion. Furthermore, the Commission concluded that the agreement satisfied the "better off overall test" and did not contain terms that were inconsistent with the National Employment Standards. As such, the Commission approved the Baiada Farms Pty Limited Laverton (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2015-2018. No further orders were made.

Baiada Farms Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established