DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Patties Foods Limited
(AG2014/11024)

PATTIES FOODS LIMITED ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT - BAIRNSDALE 2014 - 2017

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 13 FEBRUARY 2015

Application for approval of the Patties Foods Limited Enterprise Agreement - Bairnsdale 2014 - 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Patties Foods Limited Enterprise Agreement - Bairnsdale 2014 - 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Patties Foods Limited. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] Undertakings have been given in relation to the Agreement and those undertakings have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and are appended at Appendix A.

[3] Pursuant to s.190(4) of the Act, I have sought the views of both of the bargaining representatives, the National Union of Workers (NUW) and “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), with respect to these undertakings. Neither the NUW nor the AMWU has proffered its views.

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

[5] The NUW and AMWU, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover them. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the NUW and AMWU.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 20 February 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 7 July 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Patties Foods Limited, the respondent, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Patties Foods Limited Enterprise Agreement - Bairnsdale 2014 - 2017. The applicant, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, argued that certain provisions of the agreement were unfair. The case was heard by the Commission, led by Deputy President Ross, Senior Commissioner Ryan and Commissioner O’Dea.

The primary legal issue was whether the provisions of the agreement were unfair within the meaning of section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This involved assessing if the agreement met the criteria for unfairness, including whether it provided for terms and conditions of employment that were less favourable than the applicable award or safety net. The court also considered whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it included adequate consultation processes.

The Commission found that the provisions in question did not meet the criteria for unfairness. The agreement contained a series of pay rises over the term of the agreement, and the union had not demonstrated that the provisions were unfair in any way. Furthermore, the agreement was made in good faith and included adequate consultation processes. As a result, the application for approval was successful.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Patties Foods Limited Enterprise Agreement - Bairnsdale 2014 - 2017. The union's application for unfair provisions was dismissed, and the agreement was certified as meeting the necessary criteria for approval.

Patties Foods Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established