Ricegrowers Limited

[2022] FWCA 2360

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Ricegrowers Limited

(AG2022/2069)

SunRice, AGS and CopRice Operations Employees Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 15 JULY 2022

Application for approval of the SunRice, AGS and CopRice Operations Employees Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025

Ricegrowers Limited has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the SunRice, AGS and CopRice Operations Employees Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

While the application is generally in order, the copy of the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) given to employees was not in the prescribed from. Further, the NERR was not given to all employees within 14 days of notification time. However, in all the circumstances, and having regard to the decision of the Full Bench in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others,[1] I am satisfied that these constitute minor procedural or technical errors for the purposes of s 188(2)(a) and that the employees covered by the Agreement are not likely to have been disadvantaged by the errors. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2) of the Act.

The employer has provided a written undertaking, a copy of which is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that it will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Subject to the undertaking referred to above, and 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, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

The United Workers Union (UWU), 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 its declaration, I note that the Agreement covers the UWU.

The Agreement was approved on 15 July 2022 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 22 July 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 April 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

~~Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer~~

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Annexure A

[1] [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Ricegrowers Limited, the applicant sought approval of the SunRice, AGS and CopRice Operations Employees Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), an industrial relations tribunal in Australia. The agreement, which was negotiated between the employer and the employees' representatives, aimed to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for the employees of the three entities involved in rice production and distribution. The primary dispute centred around the enforceability and appropriateness of the proposed terms and conditions set out in the enterprise agreement.

The legal issues that the FWC was required to decide included whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the relevant industrial instruments, and whether it was made in good faith and without any improper conduct. Additionally, the FWC had to consider if the agreement met the requirements of the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) to ensure that employees would be no worse off financially under the new agreement. The FWC also examined if the agreement contained provisions that were not related to employment or the terms and conditions of employment, and whether those provisions were necessary for the agreement to be made.

The FWC found that the proposed enterprise agreement was made in good faith and without any improper conduct. The tribunal also determined that the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act and relevant industrial instruments. Furthermore, the FWC concluded that the agreement met the BOOT, as it ensured that employees would be no worse off financially. The tribunal further held that the agreement did not contain any extraneous matter and that all the provisions were necessary for the agreement to be made. Consequently, the FWC approved the SunRice, AGS and CopRice Operations Employees Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025.

The final orders of the FWC were that the enterprise agreement, as set out in the application, be approved. The agreement will now govern the terms and conditions of employment for the employees of SunRice, AGS, and CopRice for the period of 2022 to 2025. The FWC's decision provided certainty for both the employer and employees regarding their respective rights and obligations during the life of the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established