DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Signode Packaging Group Australia Pty Ltd T/A Signode Australia
(AG2015/6200)

SIGNODE AUSTRALIA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT KURRI KURRI 2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 8 DECEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the Signode Australia Enterprise Agreement Kurri Kurri 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Signode Australia Enterprise Agreement Kurri Kurri 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Signode Packaging Group Australia Pty Ltd T/A Signode Australia. 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 application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[4] 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 15 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 May 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Signode Packaging Group Australia Pty Ltd trading as Signode Australia, sought approval of the Signode Australia Enterprise Agreement Kurri Kurri 2015 under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute arose in the Fair Work Commission, where the applicant argued that the agreement met the criteria for registration and should be approved. The respondents, including various unions and individual employees, contested the application on various grounds, including that the agreement did not fairly represent the employees' interests.

The central legal issues before the Commission involved determining whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, whether it had been appropriately negotiated, and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The Commission had to assess whether the agreement was made without inappropriate conduct, if it covered the appropriate bargaining unit, and whether it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions of employment.

In its decision, the Commission examined the negotiation process and found that the agreement had been made without coercion, duress, or other inappropriate conduct. It was determined that the agreement fairly represented the employees' interests and included the necessary minimum terms and conditions. The Commission concluded that the agreement met all the statutory requirements for registration and approved the Signode Australia Enterprise Agreement Kurri Kurri 2015. Consequently, the application was successful, and the agreement was registered under the Fair Work Act.

The Commission ordered that the Signode Australia Enterprise Agreement Kurri Kurri 2015 be approved and registered. The agreement was to be registered from the date of the decision, and the parties were required to comply with its terms. The decision effectively resolved the dispute, providing clarity and certainty regarding the terms of employment for the employees covered by the agreement.

Signode Packaging Group Australia Pty Ltd T/A Signode Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established