CMTP Packaging Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 3822

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

CMTP Packaging Pty Ltd
(AG2014/6258)

CMTP BRAESIDE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 10 JUNE 2014

Application for approval of the CMTP Braeside Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the CMTP Braeside Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by CMTP Packaging Pty Ltd (the employer). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The application was accompanied by a letter dated 29 May 2014 to the Fair Work Commission from CMTP Packaging Pty Ltd and co-signed by the employee bargaining representative for the Agreement, the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), requesting that the pay rates as set out in that letter not be published.

[3] As the Agreement only contains one rate in clause 12, the minimum rate, I requested the employer provide an undertaking which would effectively put all the pay rates into the Agreement so that the Agreement could be properly assessed against the Better Off Overall Test. The employer provided such an undertaking.

[4] In addition the consultation term in the Agreement does not contain a consultation term with the content required by s.205(1) and (1A) of the Act. As such I gave the employer the opportunity of addressing this deficiency through an undertaking. The employer provided an undertaking that the model consultation term applies in lieu of clause 21 of the Agreement. The model consultation term is appended at Appendix A.

[5] The undertakings provided by the employer have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and are appended at Appendix B.

[6] Subject to those undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[7] The AMWU, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[8] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 17 June 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 23 May 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

The case involved CMTP Packaging Pty Ltd, an applicant seeking approval for the CMTP Braeside Agreement 2014. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, where the applicant sought approval for the agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees and complied with the relevant legislative framework.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for "modern awards" under the Fair Work Act, specifically section 233. This included ensuring that the agreement did not disadvantage employees in terms of their pay and conditions compared to those provided by the applicable modern award. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement facilitated the ability of employees to negotiate effectively with their employer and whether it complied with procedural requirements for its approval.

The Commission reviewed the proposed agreement's provisions and the submissions from both the applicant and the employees' representatives. It found that the agreement did not provide any terms that were worse than those provided by the relevant modern award. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the agreement facilitated effective negotiation and met all procedural requirements. Consequently, the Commission approved the CMTP Braeside Agreement 2014, finding it to be in compliance with the relevant legislative provisions.

CMTP Packaging Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established