Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 583

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd
(AG2014/3404)

OAKEY ABATTOIR PTY LTD & MAINTENANCE, STOREPERSONS AND ENGINE DRIVERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 24 JANUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd & Maintenance, Storepersons and Engine Drivers Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd & Maintenance, Storepersons and Engine Drivers Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[3] 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.

[4] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 31 January 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 23 January 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd was the subject of an application for the approval of the Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd & Maintenance, Storepersons and Engine Drivers Enterprise Agreement 2013. The application was made under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009 and was heard in the Fair Work Commission. The matter involved the dispute over the validity and fairness of the proposed enterprise agreement which was intended to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for maintenance, storepersons, and engine drivers at the Oakey Abattoir.

The legal issues before the court centred on whether the enterprise agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, specifically regarding the procedural fairness and the substantive fairness of the agreement. The court needed to assess if the agreement was genuinely negotiated and if it provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees involved. The key points of contention included the process by which the agreement was negotiated and whether the agreement itself contained provisions that were fair and equitable for all parties.

In deliberating on the matter, the Fair Work Commission examined the process of negotiation and the content of the agreement. The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees, and it considered the evidence presented regarding the fairness of the agreement's terms. The Commission concluded that the agreement met the procedural and substantive fairness requirements under the Fair Work Act. The court approved the enterprise agreement, finding that it provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees and that the process of negotiation was conducted appropriately.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission approved the Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd & Maintenance, Storepersons and Engine Drivers Enterprise Agreement 2013, deeming it to be a lawful and fair agreement under the provisions of the Fair Work Act. This decision ensured that the terms of the agreement would govern the employment conditions of the specified employees at the Oakey Abattoir.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established