DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

NCI Holdings P/L T/A NCI Packaging
(AG2017/367)

NCI HOLDINGS – ROCKLEA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT DEAN	MELBOURNE, 2 MARCH 2017

Application for approval of the NCI Holdings - Rocklea Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the NCI Holdings - Rocklea 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 NCI Holdings P/L T/A NCI Packaging. 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, 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.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 2 March 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 9 March 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 9 March 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

NCI Holdings P/L, trading as NCI Packaging, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the NCI Holdings - Rocklea Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application arose after the company and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees entered into a new enterprise agreement that sought to replace the existing NCI Holdings - Rocklea Enterprise Agreement 2013. The dispute centred on the procedural fairness of the agreement and whether it complied with the Fair Work Act 2009. The court was tasked with determining whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions and whether it met the necessary standards of procedural fairness and good faith bargaining.

The legal issues before the court were whether the agreement had been made with genuine and genuine participation, and whether it was made in good faith. The court examined the process through which the agreement was negotiated and the extent to which both parties had engaged in meaningful bargaining. The union argued that the company had failed to bargain in good faith, while the company claimed that the union had not genuinely participated in the negotiations. The court also considered whether the agreement provided adequate protections for employees and whether it complied with the Fair Work Act's standards for enterprise agreements.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement had been made with genuine participation and in good faith. The court noted that both parties had engaged in extensive negotiations and that the union had provided detailed submissions and counter-proposals. The commission determined that the company had acted reasonably in its bargaining and that there was no evidence of bad faith. The court concluded that the agreement met the necessary standards for procedural fairness and good faith bargaining and was in the best interests of the employees. The commission approved the agreement, finding that it provided appropriate protections and benefits for the employees.

The final order of the court was to approve the NCI Holdings - Rocklea Enterprise Agreement 2017, effective from the date of the decision. The court directed that the agreement would replace the existing 2013 agreement and would apply to all employees covered by the agreement. The court also ordered that the union and the company would be bound by the terms of the agreement and that any disputes arising under the agreement would be resolved in accordance with the Fair Work Act. The decision provided certainty for both parties and ensured that the agreement would be implemented in a fair and transparent manner.

NCI Holdings P/L T/A NCI Packaging

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established