DECISION

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

George Weston Foods Limited
(AG2019/355)

GEORGE WESTON FOODS LIMITED (CASTLEMAINE) ENGINEERING UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2018

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BULL	SYDNEY, 28 MAY 2019

Application for approval of the George Weston Foods Limited (Castlemaine) Engineering Union Collective Agreement 2018.

[1] An application (Form F16) has been filed by George Weston Foods Limited(the applicant) for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the George Weston Foods Limited (Castlemaine) Engineering Union Collective Agreement 2018 (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 as per s.172(2) of the Act.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings regarding definition of a shiftworker and the family and domestic violence leave. A copy of the undertakings is attached at the end of the Agreement. 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.

[1] The Employer has provided that the notification time and the last notice of representational rights is 20 March 2018.

[2] 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.

[3] The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and Communications, Electrical, Electronics, Postal, Information, Plumbing & Allied Services Union being bargaining representatives 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 organisations.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 June 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

George Weston Foods Limited sought approval for the George Weston Foods Limited (Castlemaine) Engineering Union Collective Agreement 2018 from the Fair Work Commission. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking to have the agreement registered with the Commission and enforceable against the parties. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for engineering union members at George Weston Foods Limited's Castlemaine facility.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, particularly whether it was a "good faith" agreement and whether it contained all the terms required by the Act. The Commission had to consider whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for good faith bargaining, whether it contained all the prescribed terms, and whether it provided for adequate protections for employees. The Commission also had to determine whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and whether it was fair and reasonable.

The Commission found that the agreement was a good faith agreement and contained all the required terms. The agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees, and it was in their best interests. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for adequate protections for employees, including provisions for dispute resolution, and that it complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission approved the application for registration of the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the application for the registration of the George Weston Foods Limited (Castlemaine) Engineering Union Collective Agreement 2018. The agreement was registered and became enforceable against the parties on the date of the Commission's decision. The employees at the Castlemaine facility were now covered by the terms and conditions of the agreement, which provided for fair and reasonable terms of employment and adequate protections for their rights and interests.

George Weston Foods Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established