Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 9768

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd
(AG2013/10317)

BLOWFLEX MOULDINGS PTY LTD & AUSTRALIAN WORKERS UNION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013-2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 12 DECEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd & Australian Workers Union Enterprise Agreement 2013-2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd & Australian Workers Union Enterprise Agreement 2013-2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Australian Workers’ 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 19 December 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 June 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd recently applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd & Australian Workers Union Enterprise Agreement 2013-2017. The application was brought under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009, which provides that the Fair Work Commission must approve an enterprise agreement if it is satisfied that certain "good faith" and "other" criteria are met. The application was opposed by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, which argued that the agreement was not made in good faith.

The primary legal issue before the Fair Work Commission was whether the enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission considered whether the agreement had been made in good faith, as well as whether it met the other criteria for approval set out in the Fair Work Act. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement was "in the public interest" and whether it would have a "positive effect on the national system of industrial relations".

The Fair Work Commission found that the enterprise agreement had been made in good faith and met the other criteria for approval. The Commission noted that the agreement had been negotiated in an open and transparent manner, and that it provided for a number of benefits for employees, including pay increases and improved working conditions. The Commission also found that the agreement would have a positive effect on the national system of industrial relations, as it provided for a more efficient and productive workplace. The Fair Work Commission approved the enterprise agreement, and it will now be binding on all parties from 1 July 2013.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established