DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd
(AG2020/4148)

PEERLESS HOLDINGS PTY LTD (TANK FARM, HYDROGENATION PLANT) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 27 JANUARY 2021

Application for approval of the Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd (Tank Farm, Hydrogenation Plant) Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd (Tank Farm, Hydrogenation Plant) Enterprise Agreement 2020 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[3] The United Workers’ Union, 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) and based on the declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 27 January 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 3 February 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 April 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) was for the approval of the Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd (Tank Farm, Hydrogenation Plant) Enterprise Agreement 2020. The applicant, Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd, sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The matter was heard by Deputy President R.J. Mortimer, who was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for registration.

The legal issues before the FWC centred on whether the agreement was made in good faith, whether it was the product of genuine bargaining, and whether it contained the requisite minimum terms and conditions as stipulated by the Fair Work Act. The FWC also needed to consider whether the agreement was procedurally sound, given the union's withdrawal from the bargaining process and the subsequent direct negotiations between the employer and its employees.

In delivering the decision, Deputy President Mortimer found that the agreement was made in good faith and was the product of genuine bargaining. The FWC noted that, despite the union's withdrawal, the employees had actively participated in the negotiation process and had been fully informed of their rights and the implications of the proposed agreement. The Deputy President concluded that the agreement contained the minimum terms and conditions required by the Fair Work Act and was procedurally sound. Consequently, the FWC approved the agreement, and it was registered as a certified agreement under the Fair Work Act.

The final orders of the FWC included the registration of the Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd (Tank Farm, Hydrogenation Plant) Enterprise Agreement 2020 as a certified agreement. This decision confirmed the agreement as binding between the parties and enforceable under the Fair Work Act.

Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd

DECISION

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