DECISION

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

Nestle Australia Ltd T/A Nestle
(AG2016/146)

NESTLE AUSTRALIA LTD. GYMPIE FACTORY COMPREHENSIVE AGREEMENT 2016

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 10 FEBRUARY 2016

Application for approval of the Nestle Australia Ltd. Gympie Factory Comprehensive Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Nestle Australia Ltd. Gympie Factory Comprehensive Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Nestle Australia Ltd T/A Nestle. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Workers’ Union, “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 17 February 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Price code J, AE417777 PR576890

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Nestle Australia Limited, trading as Nestle, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Gympie Factory Comprehensive Agreement 2016. The dispute centred on the proposed enterprise agreement and whether it complied with the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission, specifically a panel led by Commissioner R M Marshall, was tasked with evaluating the agreement's compliance and its fairness.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in terms of the procedural fairness and the substantive fairness of the agreement. The court examined whether the agreement was free from any improper conduct and if it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment.

Commissioner R M Marshall concluded that the agreement was procedurally fair, having been negotiated in good faith and with appropriate representation. The court also found that the substantive terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable, taking into account the interests of both employees and the employer. The agreement was deemed to provide for appropriate protections for employees, including provisions for wages, working conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Consequently, the commission approved the agreement.

The final orders of the commission were that the Gympie Factory Comprehensive Agreement 2016 be approved, with the effective date of the agreement being set to the date of the commission's decision.

Nestle Australia Ltd T/A Nestle

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established