Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd T/A Orora Beverage Cans Summary

[2023] FWCA 1743

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd T/A Orora Beverage Cans

(AG2023/1521)

ORORA BEVERAGE CANS (CANNING VALE) ENTERPRISE

Agreement 2022

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER MATHESON	SYDNEY, 15 JUNE 2023

Application for approval of the Orora Beverage Cans (Canning Vale) Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Orora Beverage Cans (Canning Vale) Enterprise Agreement 2022 (Agreement). The application was made by Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd (Applicant) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

On the basis of the materials before the Commission, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to the application for approval of the Agreement have been met.

The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 22 June 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2026.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Orora Beverage Cans, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Orora Beverage Cans (Canning Vale) Enterprise Agreement 2022. The agreement was intended to govern the employment conditions of workers at Orora's Canning Vale facility. The application arose as the proposed agreement needed to meet certain legal standards to be formally approved and registered.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement provided for the mandatory terms set out in the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and concluded in good faith. The Commission also had to consider whether the process leading up to the agreement was fair and whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement did indeed provide for the mandatory terms required by the Fair Work Act. It was also satisfied that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and concluded in good faith. The process leading up to the agreement was deemed fair, and the agreement was found to comply with the requirements of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act. Given these findings, the Commission approved the agreement and ordered that it be registered.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Orora Beverage Cans (Canning Vale) Enterprise Agreement 2022 be approved and registered. The agreement would then be enforceable as a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act. This outcome provided certainty for the parties and ensured that the agreement would be legally binding on the employees and employer covered by it.

Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd T/A Orora Beverage Cans

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established