Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd t/a Orora Bag Solutions v “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union

Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Orora Bag Solutions, sought an application to suspend protected industrial action by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, commonly known as the AMWU. The dispute arose from an ongoing industrial dispute involving employees at the Orora Bag Solutions facility in Victoria. The primary issue in the case was whether the protected industrial action undertaken by the union was unlawful and warranted suspension under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The court was required to determine whether the industrial action was protected action within the meaning of the Fair Work Act and whether it breached any provisions of the Act. Specifically, the court needed to assess if the action was genuinely in furtherance of a workplace dispute, if the union had followed the appropriate processes, and if the action was reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances. Additionally, the court had to consider whether there were grounds for a cooling-off period under the Act, which would require the union to suspend the industrial action.

In its judgment, the court found that the industrial action undertaken by the AMWU was protected action within the meaning of the Fair Work Act. However, the court determined that the action had exceeded the bounds of reasonableness and proportionality, leading to unnecessary detriment to Orora Packaging. The court held that the action was not genuinely in furtherance of a workplace dispute, given the significant disruption it caused to the company's operations and the potential harm to employees not involved in the dispute. Consequently, the court granted the application to suspend the industrial action and ordered a cooling-off period. This decision aimed to provide a temporary pause in the industrial action to allow for negotiations and to mitigate the adverse effects on all parties involved.