DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bega Cheese Limited
(AG2016/5788)

BEGA CHEESE EMPLOYEES AND UNIONS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 10 NOVEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Bega Cheese Employees and Unions Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Bega Cheese Employees and Unions Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Bega Cheese Limited. 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] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[5] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union 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 17 November 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 12 July 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Bega Cheese Limited sought the Fair Work Commission's approval for the Bega Cheese Employees and Unions Enterprise Agreement 2016. The application for approval was made by the company and the unions involved in the agreement. The dispute centred around whether the enterprise agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining if the agreement was genuinely negotiated and if it complied with the various provisions of the Act, including those concerning employee entitlements, working conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

The primary legal issues that the court had to decide were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and if it met the statutory criteria for approval. The court considered whether the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining between the parties, and if it contained all the mandatory terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the court examined whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable resolution of disputes between the parties and whether it included provisions for the protection of employees' rights and interests.

The court found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and met all the statutory requirements for approval. The court noted that there was evidence of genuine bargaining between the parties, and that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act. The court also found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable resolution of disputes and included provisions for the protection of employees' rights and interests. The court concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and the company, and granted approval of the Bega Cheese Employees and Unions Enterprise Agreement 2016.

Bega Cheese Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established