Cryovac Australia Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 8365

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Cryovac Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7978)

CRYOVAC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD PRINTING DEPARTMENT (FAWKNER SITE) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014-2018

Graphic Arts
DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMILTON	MELBOURNE, 21 NOVEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Cryovac Australia Pty Ltd Printing Department (Fawkner Site) Enterprise Agreement 2014 -2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Cryovac Australia Pty Ltd Printing Department (Fawkner Site) Enterprise Agreement
2014-2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Cryovac 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 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The agreement does not contain a model consultation term compliant with the Act. Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 28 November 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

[5] The Australian Manufacturing 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.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Cryovac Australia Pty Ltd, a manufacturer of packaging materials, brought an application to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Cryovac Australia Pty Ltd Printing Department (Fawkner Site) Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018. The agreement was to cover employees who were part of the printing department at the Fawkner site. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements, including its coverage of employees, its fairness, and whether it met the criteria for simplification and modernisation.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement covered a single, appropriate group of employees, whether it met the definition of a single, appropriate group under the Fair Work Act, and if the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its terms. Additionally, the Commission considered whether the agreement provided for simplification and modernisation of workplace arrangements, and if it complied with the provisions of the Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was for a single, appropriate group of employees and met the definition under the Fair Work Act. It held that the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its terms, noting that it provided for reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also found that the agreement facilitated simplification and modernisation of workplace arrangements. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met all the statutory criteria for approval.

In its final orders, the Fair Work Commission approved the Cryovac Australia Pty Ltd Printing Department (Fawkner Site) Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018. The agreement was deemed to be in effect from the date of the Commission's decision, binding both the employer and the employees covered by the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established