Friendly Society Medical Association Limited T/A National Pharmacies

[2017] FWCA 5352

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Friendly Society Medical Association Limited T/A National Pharmacies

(AG2017/2756)

National Pharmacies Distribution Centre Store Replenishment Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017

Pharmaceutical industry
Deputy President Masson	MELBOURNE, 16 OCTOBER 2017

Application for approval of the National Pharmacies Distribution Centre Store Replenishment Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the National Pharmacies Distribution Centre Store Replenishment Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Friendly Society Medical Association Limited T/A National Pharmacies. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

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.

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.

The National Union of Workers, 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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 23 October 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 October 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involves the Friendly Society Medical Association Limited trading as National Pharmacies and the National Pharmacies Distribution Centre Store Replenishment Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017. The dispute reached the Fair Work Commission, where the association applied for the approval of the said enterprise agreement. The respondents to the application were the National Pharmacies Distribution Centre Store Replenishment Employees Union, as the relevant union, and the employees affected by the agreement.

The central legal issues before the commission were whether the enterprise agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in terms of procedural fairness and the substantive terms of the agreement. The commission needed to determine if the agreement was made in good faith, and if it contained the necessary minimum terms as prescribed by the Act. Additionally, the commission had to assess whether the agreement appropriately balanced the interests of the employees and the employer.

In delivering its decision, the commission examined the process by which the agreement was negotiated and the content of the agreement itself. The commission found that the negotiation process was conducted in good faith and that the agreement contained all the required minimum terms. The commission also determined that the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable, taking into account the interests of both the employees and the employer. Consequently, the commission approved the National Pharmacies Distribution Centre Store Replenishment Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017.

As a result of the commission's decision, the enterprise agreement was approved and is now legally binding between the Friendly Society Medical Association Limited and the employees covered by the agreement. The terms of the agreement will govern the employment conditions of the store replenishment employees within the National Pharmacies Distribution Centre.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established