Rocla Pty Ltd T/A Rocla Pipeline Products Summary

[2014] FWCA 8346

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Rocla Pty Ltd T/A Rocla Pipeline Products
(AG2014/9826)

ROCLA PTY LTD - GAILES COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2014

Cement and concrete products
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 24 NOVEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Rocla Pty Ltd - Gailes Collective Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Rocla Pty Ltd - Gailes Collective Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Rocla Pty Ltd T/A Rocla Pipeline Products. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and The Australian Workers’ Union being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2), I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 1 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 11 November 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved Rocla Pty Ltd, trading as Rocla Pipeline Products, and the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The dispute centred on the application for the approval of the Rocla Pty Ltd – Gailes Collective Agreement 2014. The matter was brought before the FWC, which needed to determine if the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues that the FWC had to resolve were whether the agreement was made in good faith, if it complied with the procedural fairness requirements, and if it was an enterprise agreement within the meaning of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the FWC had to consider if the bargaining process was free from coercion, undue influence, and if the agreement provided for minimum entitlements as required by law.

In delivering its decision, the FWC examined the evidence provided regarding the bargaining process and the terms of the agreement. The FWC concluded that the agreement was made in good faith and that there were no procedural irregularities that would invalidate it. The FWC also found that the agreement met the statutory requirements and contained all necessary provisions for it to be approved. Consequently, the FWC approved the Rocla Pty Ltd – Gailes Collective Agreement 2014.

The FWC's final order was that the Rocla Pty Ltd – Gailes Collective Agreement 2014 be approved, effective from the date of the decision. This approval meant that the agreement would govern the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by it, subject to the provisions of the Fair Work Act.

Rocla Pty Ltd T/A Rocla Pipeline Products

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established