DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Manildra Energy Australia Pty Ltd T/A Manildra Group
(AG2015/2133)

MANILDRA GROUP OF COMPANIES AND AWU WEST MELBOURNE SITE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 20 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the Manildra Group of Companies and AWU West Melbourne Site Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Manildra Group of Companies and AWU West Melbourne Site Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Manildra Energy Australia Pty Ltd T/A Manildra Group. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] An undertaking has been given in relation to clause 17.1 of the Agreement and that undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[3] Pursuant to s.190(4) of the Act, I sought the views of The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) with respect to the undertaking.

[4] Subject to the undertaking, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The AWU, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. The Applicant requested an extension of time. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 27 March 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Manildra Energy Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Manildra Group, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Manildra Group of Companies and AWU West Melbourne Site Agreement 2014. The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) opposed the application on several grounds, including that the agreement was not made in good faith and that it did not provide appropriate protections for employees. The dispute was heard by the Fair Work Commission, with Commissioner McCabe presiding.

The central legal issues for the Commission to determine were whether the agreement was genuinely made in good faith, as required by section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it provided appropriate protections for employees, in line with the principles of the Act. The AWU argued that the agreement failed to provide adequate protections, particularly regarding enterprise flexibility provisions, which they claimed were excessively broad and could be used to undermine existing protections.

The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely made in good faith. Commissioner McCabe concluded that the evidence demonstrated that both parties had engaged in genuine bargaining, and that the agreement reflected a reasonable compromise between the parties' positions. Regarding the protections provided by the agreement, the Commission determined that while some provisions were broad, they did not, on balance, result in a detriment to employees or undermine existing protections. The agreement was thus approved.

In approving the agreement, the Commission made an order that the Manildra Group of Companies and AWU West Melbourne Site Agreement 2014 be approved as a registered agreement under section 173 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision was made effective from the date of the Commission's determination.

Manildra Energy Australia Pty Ltd T/A Manildra Group

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established