Omya Australia Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 384

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Omya Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2013/10504)

OMYA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD - BATHURST - ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 15 JANUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Omya (Australia) Pty Limited-Bathurst-Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Omya (Australia) Pty Limited-Bathurst-Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Fair Work Commission notes and accepts the undertaking provided by the employer and it is taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertaking is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[4] The “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. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers those organisations.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 22 January 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 November 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Annexure A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Omya Australia Pty Ltd, an employer, sought approval for the Omya (Australia) Pty Limited-Bathurst-Enterprise Agreement 2013 from the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The FWC was tasked with determining if the agreement contained the minimum mandatory terms prescribed by the Act, and if it was free from prohibited content. Furthermore, the Commission had to assess if the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and if it complied with procedural fairness.

The primary legal issues before the FWC were whether the agreement contained all the minimum terms as outlined by the Act and whether it adhered to the procedural fairness standards, including genuine negotiation and the provision of necessary information to the employees. Additionally, the FWC examined if the agreement was free from prohibited content and if it met the requirements for the application of the no disadvantage test.

The FWC determined that the agreement met all the necessary requirements under the Fair Work Act. The Commission found that the agreement included all the minimum mandatory terms and did not contain any prohibited content. The FWC concluded that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated, and all procedural fairness standards were met. The employer had provided all necessary information to the employees and followed the correct procedures in negotiating the agreement. Consequently, the FWC approved the Omya (Australia) Pty Limited-Bathurst-Enterprise Agreement 2013.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Omya (Australia) Pty Limited-Bathurst-Enterprise Agreement 2013, finding that it contained all the minimum mandatory terms, was free from prohibited content, and had been genuinely negotiated in compliance with procedural fairness.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established