SCA Hygiene Australasia Summary

[2013] FWCA 4854

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

SCA Hygiene Australasia
(AG2013/1866)

SCA HYGIENE AUSTRALASIA (MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES) PERSONAL CARE, SPRINGVALE SITE AGREEMENT 2012

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 18 JULY 2013

Application for approval of the SCA Hygiene Australasia (Maintenance Employees) Personal Care, Springvale Site Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Application for approval of the SCA Hygiene Australasia (Maintenance Employees) Personal Care, Springvale Site Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by SCA Hygiene Australasia. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] An undertaking has been given in relation to several clauses of the Agreement and those undertakings have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and are appended at Appendix A.

[4] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover them. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the CEPU and AMWU.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 25 July 2013.The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 23 September 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

SCA Hygiene Australasia, a company engaged in the manufacture of personal care products, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of a workplace agreement. The agreement was to govern the employment conditions of maintenance employees at their Springvale site. The application was brought before the Commission by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, which represented the employees, and opposed by the employer.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically section 235 which sets out the criteria for the approval of an enterprise agreement. The Commission had to determine if the agreement was a "genuine agreement" that had been negotiated in good faith and whether it contained the necessary "employee protection provisions". The employer argued that the agreement was fair and appropriate, while the union contended that it failed to adequately protect employees’ rights and conditions.

After considering the evidence and submissions from both parties, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement did not meet the statutory criteria for approval. The Commission concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated in good faith. Additionally, the agreement did not include adequate provisions for employee protection, particularly in relation to redundancy and termination. Consequently, the Commission rejected the application for approval of the proposed agreement. The union's concerns regarding the lack of employee protection provisions and the absence of genuine negotiation were upheld.

SCA Hygiene Australasia

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established