Bickford's Australia Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 6217

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Bickford's Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2013/2298)

BICKFORD'S AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013 (PRODUCTION AND LOGISTICS EMPLOYEES)

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT O'CALLAGHAN	ADELAIDE, 29 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the Bickford's Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013 (Production and Logistics Employees).

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Bickford's Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013 (Production and Logistics Employees) (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Bickford’s Australia Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 6 September 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, Bickford's Australia Pty Ltd, sought approval of the Bickford's Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2013 (Production and Logistics Employees). The applicant sought to have the agreement made while the existing agreement was still in force. The dispute centred around the procedural fairness of the process used to negotiate and finalise the agreement.

The primary legal issue was whether the applicant had complied with the procedural requirements for negotiating and finalising the enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. This included whether genuine attempts were made to negotiate with the employees' representative and whether the agreement was fairly and properly made. The applicant argued that the process was fair and that the agreement was made in good faith.

The Commission found that the applicant had not provided sufficient evidence of genuine attempts to negotiate with the employees' representative. The applicant had failed to demonstrate that it had made a genuine attempt to negotiate the agreement with the representative. Additionally, the Commission found that the applicant had not acted in good faith and had not complied with the procedural requirements for negotiating and finalising the agreement. As a result, the application for approval of the enterprise agreement was dismissed.

The Commission did not approve the enterprise agreement and ordered that the existing agreement remain in force until a new agreement was made in compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant was directed to take all necessary steps to ensure that any future negotiations with the employees' representative were conducted in accordance with the Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established