Riviana Foods Pty Ltd T/A Riviana Summary

[2013] FWCA 3890

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Riviana Foods Pty Ltd T/A Riviana
(AG2013/1293)

RIVIANA FOODS (KELLETTS ROAD) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	HOBART, 27 JUNE 2013

Application for approval of the Riviana Foods (Kelletts Road) Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Riviana Foods (Kelletts Road) Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Riviana Foods Pty Ltd T/A Riviana. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The National Union of Workers, 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), I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 July 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 April 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Riviana Foods Pty Ltd, trading as Riviana, applied for the approval of the Riviana Foods (Kelletts Road) Enterprise Agreement 2013. The dispute arose from negotiations between the company and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union over the terms and conditions of employment for the union’s members working at Riviana’s Kelletts Road facility. The central issue was whether the proposed agreement complied with the relevant legislative provisions under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues that the Commission had to decide included whether the agreement was genuinely bargained, provided for the terms and conditions of employment, and complied with the provisions for minimum rates of pay, notice periods, and redundancy entitlements. The Commission also had to determine if the agreement contained appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms and if it met the requirements for being a single, indivisible document. The union argued that certain provisions did not comply with the law, while the company maintained that the agreement was fair and met all legislative requirements.

In its decision, the Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and contained all the required terms and conditions of employment. The Commission noted that while some of the union’s submissions raised valid points, they did not sufficiently demonstrate that the agreement was non-compliant. The Commission determined that the agreement provided for minimum rates of pay, adequate notice periods, and redundancy entitlements, and included suitable dispute resolution mechanisms. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding that it was a single, indivisible document that met the necessary legislative criteria.

The final orders included the approval of the Riviana Foods (Kelletts Road) Enterprise Agreement 2013, with the effective date set from the date of the Commission’s decision. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would apply to the relevant employees at the Kelletts Road facility.

Riviana Foods Pty Ltd T/A Riviana

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established