Metcash Food & Grocery Pty Limited T/A IGA Fresh Produce Distribution Centre

[2017] FWCA 5881

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Metcash Food & Grocery Pty Limited T/A IGA Fresh Produce Distribution Centre

(AG2017/3051)

Metcash Food & Grocery Fresh Produce Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2017

Storage services
Deputy President Gostencnik	MELBOURNE, 10 NOVEMBER 2017

Application for approval of the Metcash Food & Grocery Fresh Produce Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2017.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Metcash Food & Grocery Fresh Produce Distribution Centre Enterprise 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 Metcash Food & Grocery Pty Limited T/A IGA Fresh Produce Distribution Centre. 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, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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.

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement was approved on 10 November 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 17 November 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 January 2019.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Metcash Food & Grocery Pty Limited, trading as IGA Fresh Produce Distribution Centre, sought the approval of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for the Metcash Food & Grocery Fresh Produce Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was brought under section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The primary dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for the workers covered by the proposed agreement, with a focus on issues such as classification, wage rates, and other employment-related conditions.

The legal issues before the FWC included whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including provisions for genuine bargaining, coverage, and the absence of provisions that would be contrary to public policy. The applicant argued that the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining and did not contain any illegal or contrary to public policy provisions. The FWC needed to determine whether the agreement fulfilled these criteria and whether it could be approved as a single, uniform, and national system agreement.

In reaching its decision, the FWC examined the evidence presented and the arguments of the parties. The FWC found that the agreement was indeed the result of genuine bargaining, as it was negotiated between the employer and the union representing the employees. The FWC also found that the agreement did not contain any illegal or contrary to public policy provisions and met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. Therefore, the FWC approved the Metcash Food & Grocery Fresh Produce Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2017, which will now form the basis of employment conditions for the workers covered by the agreement.

The FWC’s approval of the enterprise agreement is subject to the conditions outlined in the decision. The agreement will be registered and will have effect from the date of registration. The terms of the agreement will govern the employment conditions of the workers covered by it, and any disputes arising under the agreement will be subject to the dispute resolution processes set out in the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established