DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Lion Dairy & Drinks Dairy Foods Ltd T/A Lion
(AG2016/6614)

LION DAIRY & DRINKS (CHELSEA) CREAM ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 10 JANUARY 2017

Application for approval of the Lion Dairy & Drinks (Chelsea) Cream Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Lion Dairy & Drinks (Chelsea) Cream Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Lion Dairy & Drinks Dairy Foods Ltd T/A Lion. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[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] 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 17 January 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 16 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Lion Dairy & Drinks Dairy Foods Ltd T/A Lion (the employer) applied for approval of the Lion Dairy & Drinks (Chelsea) Cream Enterprise Agreement 2016. The applicant union was the Transport Workers Union of Australia (the union). The dispute centred around the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement, specifically whether it complied with the statutory requirements for such agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining if the agreement met the criteria for approval, including whether it provided for the rights and obligations of the parties in good faith and whether it was made without undue influence or coercion.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was genuinely made as a result of bargaining between the employer and the union, and if it contained the necessary provisions to be considered a genuine enterprise agreement. The Commission examined the process of negotiation, the content of the agreement, and the manner in which it was presented to the employees for approval. The union argued that certain terms of the agreement were not the result of genuine bargaining and that some provisions did not comply with statutory requirements. The employer maintained that the agreement was the product of genuine negotiations and fully complied with the Act.

The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely made through a process of good faith bargaining and did not contain any terms that were not the result of that process. The Commission also determined that the agreement met all statutory requirements, including that it provided for the rights, obligations, and duties of the parties in good faith. The union's arguments regarding the content of the agreement and the negotiation process were not upheld, and the application for approval was successful. The Commission approved the agreement on the basis that it was a genuine enterprise agreement under the Act.

The final order was that the Lion Dairy & Drinks (Chelsea) Cream Enterprise Agreement 2016 be approved as a registered agreement. This decision confirmed the validity of the agreement, allowing it to be in effect for the parties involved.

Lion Dairy & Drinks Dairy Foods Ltd T/A Lion

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established