M.C. Herd Pty Ltd T/A M.C. Herd Summary

[2018] FWCA 1110

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

M.C. Herd Pty Ltd T/A M.C. Herd

(AG2017/4705)

Application for approval of the M.C Herd Pty Ltd and the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union Collective Agreement 2017

Meat Industry
Commissioner McKinnon	MELBOURNE, 21 FEBRUARY 2018

Application for approval of the M.C Herd Pty Ltd and the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union Collective Agreement 2017.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the M.C Herd Pty Ltd and the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union Collective 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 M.C. Herd Pty Ltd T/A M.C. Herd. 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.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.

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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 28 February 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 9 August 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the Fair Work Commission was an application for the approval of the 2017 Collective Agreement between M.C. Herd Pty Ltd and the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union. The application was brought by the union, seeking to have the agreement registered and made enforceable under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around the terms and conditions of employment within the meat processing industry, particularly focusing on issues such as wages, working conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to address included whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval, including whether it provided for minimum terms and conditions as prescribed by the Act, and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining requirement. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it covered.

The Fair Work Commission determined that the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission found that the agreement failed to provide for minimum terms and conditions in certain areas, such as casual loadings and penalty rates for Sunday work, which were not adequately addressed. Furthermore, the Commission concluded that the agreement did not adequately address the issue of good faith bargaining, as it did not contain a clause that explicitly required the parties to bargain in good faith. The Commission also noted that the agreement did not sufficiently protect employees' interests in terms of working conditions and dispute resolution mechanisms.

As a result of these findings, the Commission did not grant approval of the agreement. The Commission ordered that the agreement be returned to the parties for further negotiation and amendment, with specific directions to address the deficiencies identified in the decision. The parties were instructed to resubmit the agreement for approval once the identified issues had been resolved to the satisfaction of the Commission.

M.C. Herd Pty Ltd T/A M.C. Herd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established