DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Kilcoy Pastoral Company Limited
(AG2018/2380)

KILCOY PASTORAL COMPANY LIMITED PROCESSING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Meat Industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 21 NOVEMBER 2018

Application for approval of the Kilcoy Pastoral Company Limited Processing Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Kilcoy Pastoral Company Limited Processing Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Kilcoy Pastoral Company Limited. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer 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.

[3] 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.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Australasian Meat Industry Employees 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 28 November 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 20 November 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, Kilcoy Pastoral Company Limited, sought approval of the Kilcoy Pastoral Company Limited Processing Enterprise Agreement 2018. The respondent, the Queensland Workers' Union, opposed the application. The agreement, which covered employees in the meat processing and meat wholesaling industries, sought to establish a new classification structure and provide for increased working hours, reduced penalty rates, and the removal of certain allowances. The dispute centred on whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues the Commission had to resolve were whether the proposed changes in the agreement were procedurally and substantively compliant with the Fair Work Act. Procedurally, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement had been made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act, including whether there was genuine bargaining and if the agreement was made without coercion or undue influence. Substantively, the Commission had to assess if the provisions of the agreement were consistent with the national system of minimum entitlements and if they unfairly disadvantaged employees.

The Commission found that the agreement had been made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act. It determined that there was genuine bargaining and that the agreement was made without coercion or undue influence. Regarding the substantive compliance, the Commission concluded that the proposed changes in the agreement did not unfairly disadvantage employees and were consistent with the national system of minimum entitlements. The Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met the criteria for registration under the Act.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Kilcoy Pastoral Company Limited Processing Enterprise Agreement 2018. The agreement was registered, and the new classification structure, increased working hours, reduced penalty rates, and removal of certain allowances came into effect. The decision reinforces the importance of genuine bargaining and the need for enterprise agreements to comply with both procedural and substantive requirements under the Fair Work Act.

Kilcoy Pastoral Company Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established