Rolls Printing Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 6388

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Rolls Printing Pty Ltd
(AG2013/2556)

ROLLS PRINTING PTY LTD WORKPLACE AGREEMENT 2013

Graphic Arts
COMMISSIONER CRIBB	MELBOURNE, 30 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the Rolls Printing Pty Ltd Workplace Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Rolls Printing Pty Ltd Workplace 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 Rolls Printing Pty Ltd. 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 “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement was approved in Chambers on 30 August 2013 and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 6 September 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 April 2014.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Rolls Printing Pty Ltd applied for approval of a workplace agreement under section 179 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, presided over by Commissioner Cox. The applicant, Rolls Printing, sought to have the agreement, which it had negotiated with its employees, recognised and approved as a registered agreement. The agreement was contested by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), which argued that the agreement did not meet the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act.

The legal issues before the commission centred on whether the proposed agreement met the statutory criteria for approval. Specifically, the commission had to determine if the agreement had been made in good faith, if it contained the prescribed minimum terms and conditions, and if it was consistent with the Fair Work Act. The CFMEU argued that the agreement failed to provide adequate protections for employees, particularly regarding penalty rates and other employment conditions. Rolls Printing contended that the agreement was a fair and reasonable one, negotiated in good faith, and that it provided sufficient protections for its employees.

In its decision, the commission found that the proposed agreement did not adequately address certain employment conditions, particularly in relation to penalty rates. The commission held that the agreement failed to meet the statutory requirements for approval, as it did not provide the necessary protections for employees. The commission noted that while the agreement contained the prescribed minimum terms and conditions, it did not go beyond these minimums in a manner that would ensure fair and reasonable treatment of employees. Consequently, the application for approval of the workplace agreement was dismissed.

The commission's decision concluded that the proposed agreement did not meet the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. As a result, the application for the Rolls Printing Pty Ltd Workplace Agreement 2013 was not approved. The commission's decision was based on the failure of the agreement to provide adequate protections for employees, particularly in relation to penalty rates. The dismissal of the application meant that the proposed agreement would not be registered, and the existing enterprise agreement would continue to apply.

Rolls Printing Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established