DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd T/A Blowflex Mouldings
(AG2018/491)

BLOWFLEX MOULDINGS PTY LTD & UNITED VOICE (WESTERN AUSTRALIA) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017-2019

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 5 JULY 2018

Application for approval of the Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd & United Voice (Western Australia) Enterprise Agreement 2017-2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd & United Voice (Western Australia) Enterprise Agreement 2017-2019 (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 T/A Blowflex Mouldings. 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 United Voice 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 July 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 June 2019.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd T/A Blowflex Mouldings applied for the approval of the Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd & United Voice (Western Australia) Enterprise Agreement 2017-2019. The dispute arose between the applicant and the union, which sought to have the agreement certified as a single interest employer agreement. The applicant opposed the union’s application, asserting that the agreement did not meet the statutory criteria for approval. The case centred on whether the agreement could be certified as a single interest employer agreement, given the applicant's contention that it did not cover all employees within its bargaining unit.

The court was required to determine whether the enterprise agreement could be certified as a single interest employer agreement, considering the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court needed to assess whether the agreement covered all employees within the bargaining unit and if it met the criteria for a single interest employer agreement. The applicant argued that the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements, while the union contended that it did.

The court found that the enterprise agreement did not meet the statutory requirements for certification as a single interest employer agreement. The court reasoned that the agreement did not cover all employees within the bargaining unit, as it excluded certain employees who were not members of the union. Additionally, the court held that the agreement did not meet the criteria for a single interest employer agreement, as it did not provide for the negotiation of terms and conditions of employment for all employees within the bargaining unit. Consequently, the court dismissed the union's application for the approval of the enterprise agreement.

The court ordered that the enterprise agreement be rejected and not approved as a single interest employer agreement. The court's decision was based on the finding that the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements for certification, as it did not cover all employees within the bargaining unit and did not provide for the negotiation of terms and conditions of employment for all employees within the bargaining unit.

Blowflex Mouldings Pty Ltd T/A Blowflex Mouldings

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established