FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Clariant (Australia) Pty Ltd
(AG2021/4069)

CLARIANT (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD (LARA SITE) AGREEMENT 2020

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 17 MARCH 2021

Application for approval of the Clariant (Australia) Pty Ltd (Lara Site) Agreement 2020.

[1] Clariant (Australia) Pty Ltd has applied for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Clariant (Australia) Pty Ltd (Lara Site) Agreement 2020 (the Agreement).

[2] 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.

[3] The Agreement is approved and will operate from 24 March 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2022.

[4] The Agreement covers the United Workers’ Union.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Clariant (Australia) Pty Ltd, the respondent, applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for approval of the Clariant (Australia) Pty Ltd (Lara Site) Agreement 2020, which was to govern the employment conditions of its employees. The applicant, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, sought to intervene in the application, arguing that the proposed agreement did not meet the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The FWC was tasked with determining whether the application should be approved, whether the union's intervention was warranted, and if the proposed agreement complied with the relevant legislative provisions.

The central legal issue before the FWC was whether the proposed agreement satisfied the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the FWC needed to assess whether the agreement was a "single interest" enterprise agreement and whether it complied with the procedural and substantive requirements set out in the Act. The FWC also had to determine whether the union's intervention was justified and whether there were any procedural irregularities in the application process. The FWC's decision hinged on its interpretation of the relevant legislative provisions and the evidence presented by the parties.

The FWC determined that the application for approval of the agreement was valid and that the union's intervention was justified. The FWC found that the proposed agreement met the criteria for a "single interest" enterprise agreement and complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act. The FWC noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The FWC also found that there were no procedural irregularities in the application process. Based on these findings, the FWC approved the application for approval of the agreement.

The FWC approved the application for approval of the Clariant (Australia) Pty Ltd (Lara Site) Agreement 2020, finding that the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. The FWC also found that the union's intervention was justified and that there were no procedural irregularities in the application process. The agreement was approved and will govern the employment conditions of the respondent's employees at the Lara site.

Clariant (Australia) 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