DECISION

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

FNQ Sugar Services Pty Ltd
(AG2015/4792)

INNISFAIL BABINDA REGIONAL MILLS ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2015

Sugar industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT ASBURY	SYDNEY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the Innisfail Babinda Regional Mills Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2015

[1] FNQ Sugar Services Pty Ltd applies for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Innisfail Babinda Regional Mills Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] This approval Decision should be read in conjunction with my Reasons for Decisions 1 issued concurrently with this Decision.

[3] The Australian Workers’ Union, the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have each given notice under s.183 of the Act that these organisations want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 17 September 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

1 [2015] FWC 6290

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

FNQ Sugar Services Pty Ltd, the employer, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Innisfail Babinda Regional Mills Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2015. This application arose from the negotiation process between FNQ Sugar Services and the trade union, the Sugar Workers Union of Australia, representing the employees. The Commission's task was to determine whether the agreement should be approved under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues for the Commission to resolve were whether the agreement met the criteria for being a "single-enterprise agreement" and whether it contained provisions that were not permissible under the Act. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement was free from any unlawful content and whether it provided adequate protections for employees, particularly those in lower-paid positions.

In reaching its decision, the Commission examined the process through which the agreement was negotiated and the terms it contained. The Commission noted that the agreement was the result of genuine and good faith negotiations and that it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. It also found that the agreement was not deficient in any way and provided adequate protections for employees. The Commission concluded that the agreement met all the requirements of the Act and approved it. The Commission also found that the agreement was a single-enterprise agreement and contained no unlawful content.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Innisfail Babinda Regional Mills Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2015. The Commission found that the agreement was the result of genuine and good faith negotiations and provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. It also found that the agreement was not deficient in any way and provided adequate protections for employees.

FNQ Sugar Services 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