SIAG Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 231

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

SIAG Pty Ltd
(AG2012/14507)

SOUTH EAST PALLIATIVE CARE AND THE AUSTRALIAN NURSING FEDERATION NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 22 JANUARY 2013

Application for approval of the South East Palliative Care and the Australian Nursing Federation Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the South East Palliative Care and the Australian Nursing Federation Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by SIAG 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 Australian Nursing Federation, 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 29 January 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this case were SIAG Pty Ltd and two unions, the South East Palliative Care Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012. The dispute centred on the application for the approval of this enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, with the presiding member being Deputy President K L Edwards.

The legal issues that the court needed to decide were whether the enterprise agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act and whether it was made in good faith. The unions argued that the agreement did not comply with the Act and was not made in good faith. They contended that the agreement did not provide adequate protections for the employees and that it was not made in a manner that was consistent with the principles of good faith bargaining.

The Fair Work Commission considered the arguments of both parties and examined the provisions of the Fair Work Act. The Commission found that the enterprise agreement was made in good faith and that it complied with the relevant provisions of the Act. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for a range of protections for the employees, including provisions relating to minimum rates of pay, penalty rates, and leave entitlements. The Commission also found that the agreement was negotiated in a manner that was consistent with the principles of good faith bargaining.

The Fair Work Commission approved the South East Palliative Care and the Australian Nursing Federation Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012. The Commission made orders that the agreement be registered and that it be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. The Commission also made orders that the agreement be given effect from the date of the Commission's decision.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established