DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

George Weston Foods Limited T/A Tip Top Bakeries
(AG2021/6662)

GEORGE WESTON FOODS LIMITED TIP TOP BAKERIES VICTORIAN (MAINTENANCE) AGREEMENT 2021

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 27 AUGUST 2021

Application for approval of the George Weston Foods Limited TIP TOP BAKERIES VICTORIAN (MAINTENANCE) AGREEMENT 2021.

[1] George Weston Foods Limited T/A Tip Top Bakeries (the Applicant) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the George Weston Foods Limited TIP TOP BAKERIES VICTORIAN (MAINTENANCE) AGREEMENT 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 18 August 2021.

[3] On 18 August 2021, my Chambers sent correspondence to the parties seeking to address concerns with certain aspects of the Agreement and invited the parties to address these matters. The concerns were as follows:

• Chambers sought submissions on agreement pre-approval requirements with respect to employee coverage, voting notification and award provision.

• Clauses 14.10 - Casual Conversion, 33.2.1 - Substitution of Public Holidays and 31.6 – Carer’s Leave may be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (NES) however the effective NES precedence term at clause 8.7 of the Agreement is deemed to resolve the above NES inconsistencies.

• Chambers raised better off overall concerns with respect to trainee workers referred to in clause 11 of the Agreement.

[4] The Applicant provided submissions on the matters raised above and submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 19 August 2021. The undertaking deals with the following topics:

• In respect to the better off overall issues relating to Clause 11 Apprentices and Trainees in the Agreement, the Applicant has undertaken that Trainees are paid at a minimum, C10, as per Clause 11.7 of the Agreement.

[5] A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representatives and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representatives did not express any view on the undertaking.

[6] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[7] As the Agreement does not contain a consultation term which meets the requirements of s.205 of the Act, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[8] In addition, the Agreement does not contain a flexibility term which meets the requirements of s.203 of the Act, the model flexibility term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[9] 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” (CEPU) being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[10] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[11] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days after the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 31 March 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

The case involved an application for the approval of the George Weston Foods Limited TIP TOP BAKERIES VICTORIAN (MAINTENANCE) AGREEMENT 2021. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, which was tasked with determining whether the proposed agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on the procedural fairness of the negotiation process and whether the agreement provided adequate protection to employees during the transition period.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, whether the negotiation process was procedurally fair, and whether the terms of the agreement provided adequate protection to employees. The Commission was required to consider the evidence presented by both the employer and the employees' representatives, as well as the relevant legislative provisions and precedents.

After considering the evidence and arguments presented by both parties, the Commission found that the negotiation process had been procedurally fair and that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith. The Commission also found that the terms of the agreement provided adequate protection to employees during the transition period. As a result, the Commission approved the TIP TOP BAKERIES VICTORIAN (MAINTENANCE) AGREEMENT 2021. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for a comprehensive consultation process, which allowed for meaningful participation by the employees' representatives, and that the agreement provided for adequate transitional protections for employees.

The Fair Work Commission approved the TIP TOP BAKERIES VICTORIAN (MAINTENANCE) AGREEMENT 2021. The Commission found that the negotiation process had been procedurally fair and that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith. The Commission also found that the terms of the agreement provided adequate protection to employees during the transition period. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for a comprehensive consultation process, which allowed for meaningful participation by the employees' representatives, and that the agreement provided for adequate transitional protections for employees.

George Weston Foods Limited T/A Tip Top Bakeries

DECISION

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Legal Principle Established