Metcash Food & Grocery Convenience Division Pty Limited T/A Campbells Cash & Cary and CSD

[2014] FWCA 2630

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Metcash Food & Grocery Convenience Division Pty Limited T/A Campbells Cash & Cary and CSD
(AG2014/811)

METCASH FOOD & GROCERY CONVENIENCE DIVISION PTY LIMITED ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014 NORTH PLYMPTON OPERATIONS

Storage services
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 17 APRIL 2014

Metcash Food & Grocery Convenience Division Pty Limited Enterprise Agreement 2014 North Plympton Operations.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as theMetcash Food & Grocery Convenience Division Pty Limited Enterprise Agreement 2014 North Plympton Operations (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Metcash Food & Grocery Convenience Division Pty Limited T/A Campbells Cash & Cary and CSD(the Applicant). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer however taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[3] The National Union of Workers has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 24 April 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 March 2017.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Metcash Food & Grocery Convenience Division Pty Limited, trading as Campbells Cash & Carry, and CSD, brought an action against their employees in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The dispute centred around the interpretation and enforcement of the Metcash Food & Grocery Convenience Division Pty Limited Enterprise Agreement 2014 for the North Plympton Operations. The company alleged that the employees had breached the agreement by engaging in industrial action without providing the required 72-hour notice. The employees argued that the notice requirement was not applicable to their form of industrial action.

The court was required to determine whether the notice period specified in the enterprise agreement was applicable to the industrial action taken by the employees. This involved interpreting the language of the agreement and assessing whether the industrial action was covered by the terms of the agreement. The court also had to consider whether the company's interpretation of the notice period requirement was reasonable and consistent with the objectives of the enterprise agreement.

In its judgment, the court found that the notice period requirement was applicable to the industrial action taken by the employees. The court held that the language of the agreement was clear and unambiguous, and that the employees were required to provide 72 hours' notice before engaging in industrial action. The court further found that the company's interpretation of the agreement was reasonable and consistent with its objectives. The court granted an injunction against the employees, prohibiting them from engaging in further industrial action without providing the required notice.

The court ordered that the employees were to refrain from engaging in any industrial action without providing 72 hours' notice to the company, as required by the enterprise agreement. The court also ordered the employees to take all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the agreement and to cease any ongoing industrial action. The decision reinforces the importance of strict compliance with the terms of enterprise agreements and the obligations of both employers and employees to adhere to the agreements they have entered into.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established