Sibelco Australia Limited T/A Sibelco Australia Summary

[2013] FWCA 1923

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Sibelco Australia Limited T/A Sibelco Australia
(AG2013/368)

SIBELCO AUSTRALIA LIMITED MOLE CREEK ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 27 MARCH 2013

Application for approval of the Sibelco Australia Limited Mole Creek Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sibelco Australia Limited Mole Creek Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Sibelco Australia Limited T/A Sibelco Australia. 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] There is an obvious error on the signature page of the Agreement which shows that the Agreement was signed on behalf of the employer by Mr Leon Porter, Operations Manager for Sibelco with his signature being witnessed by Mr Ian Horton, a Loader Operator employed by Sibelco and that the Agreement was signed on behalf of employees by Ms Christy Scott an Administrative Assistant employed by Sibelco with her signature being witnessed by Mr Philip Barrett a Kiln Operator for Sibelco. As the Agreement does not cover Administrative Assistant’s and as Mr Scott was not identified as a Bargaining Representative for any employees the employer was asked to explain the basis for the authority of Ms Scott to sign the Agreement on behalf of employees. The information provided to the Commission from the employer and which I accept as being truthful is that Mr Horton was signing the Agreement on behalf of employees and that he merely put his signature and details in the wrong space of the Agreement which meant that the two witnesses also put their signatures and details in the wrong part of the signature page. As neither the Act, the Regulations or the Rules requires any particular form of a signature page for an enterprise agreement then I must be satisfied that the Agreement has been signed in accordance with Regulation 2.06A(2). Notwithstanding the placement of the signatures and details of the signatories and witnesses on the signature page I am satisfied that the Agreement has been signed in accordance with Reg.2.06A(2) in that Mr Leon Porter, Operations manager has signed on behalf of the employer and Mr Ian Horton, Loader Operator has signed as a representative of employees covered by the Agreement.

[4] An undertaking has been given in relation to several clauses of the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(2) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 3 April 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 April 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

Sibelco Australia Limited, trading as Sibelco Australia, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Sibelco Australia Limited Mole Creek Enterprise Agreement 2013. The application arose from negotiations between the company and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, which aimed to establish a new enterprise agreement to replace the existing one that had expired. The dispute centred around the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement, specifically those working at the Mole Creek site.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it contained minimum terms and conditions, whether it was free from prohibited content, and whether it had been genuinely agreed upon by the parties. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement promoted harmonious, productive, and cooperative workplace relations.

The Commission determined that the agreement met the legislative requirements and was free from prohibited content. It found that the agreement contained the minimum terms and conditions as prescribed by the Act, and it had been genuinely negotiated and agreed upon by the parties. The Commission also concluded that the agreement would promote harmonious, productive, and cooperative workplace relations. As a result, the Fair Work Commission approved the Sibelco Australia Limited Mole Creek Enterprise Agreement 2013, effective from the date of the approval and until the earlier of 31 August 2017 or the date on which it is superseded by a subsequent agreement.

Sibelco Australia Limited T/A Sibelco Australia

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established