DECISION

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

NMP Pty Ltd
(AG2014/10382)

N.M.P. PTY LTD AND THE AUSTRALASIAN MEAT INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES' UNION VICTORIAN MEAT PROCESSING AGREEMENT

Meat Industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMBERGER	SYDNEY, 8 JANUARY 2015

Application for approval of the N.M.P. Pty Ltd and the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union Victorian Meat Processing Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the N.M.P. Pty Ltd and the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union Victorian Meat Processing Agreement (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[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.

[3] The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and will operate from 15 January 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 3 years from approval.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, NMP Pty Ltd, sought approval of a new enterprise agreement with the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union, the representative of its employees. The applicant is a meat processing company, and the dispute centred on the terms of the proposed agreement which, if approved, would govern the employment conditions of the workers in the company. The commission had to determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue was whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Act, including the minimum entitlements and whether it was free from any prohibited content. Additionally, the commission had to assess if the agreement had been made in good faith and if the process for its negotiation and execution complied with the statutory requirements. Furthermore, the applicant had to demonstrate that the agreement had been appropriately certified by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.

The commission found that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms and was free from prohibited content. The applicant had demonstrated that the agreement was made in good faith and that the process for its negotiation and execution was compliant with the statutory requirements. The commission was satisfied that the agreement had been appropriately certified. Consequently, the commission approved the agreement, finding it met all the necessary statutory criteria for approval. The applicant's application was therefore successful.

NMP Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established