Solvay Interox Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 2469

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Solvay Interox Pty Ltd
(AG2014/4122)

SOLVAY INTEROX PTY LTD BANKSMEADOW SITE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT DRAKE	SYDNEY, 11 APRIL 2014

Application for approval of the Solvay Interox Pty Ltd Banksmeadow Site Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Solvay Interox Pty Ltd Banksmeadow Site Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Solvay Interox Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

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

[4] The Australian Workers’ Union, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, all being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers those organisations.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s54 of the Act, will operate from 18 April 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 February 2016.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Solvay Interox Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Solvay Interox Pty Ltd Banksmeadow Site Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, with the decision handed down on 24 February 2015. The applicant sought approval of an enterprise agreement that had been negotiated with the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Pulp and Allied Industries Union (CEPPIU).

The primary legal issue was whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the applicant needed to demonstrate that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, that it had been made in good faith, and that it met the procedural requirements of the Act. The CEPPIU argued that the agreement did not meet the good faith requirement because the applicant had not engaged in genuine bargaining.

The Commission found that the applicant had engaged in genuine bargaining with the CEPPIU, and that the agreement met all the criteria for approval. The Commission noted that the applicant had provided evidence of its efforts to reach an agreement with the union, and that it had made a number of concessions during the bargaining process. The Commission also found that the agreement met the procedural requirements of the Act, and that it was a genuine enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Solvay Interox Pty Ltd Banksmeadow Site Enterprise Agreement 2014. The applicant was required to take further steps to ensure that the agreement was properly communicated to the relevant employees, and to provide evidence of this communication to the Commission. The CEPPIU was given the opportunity to lodge an appeal against the decision within 21 days of the decision being handed down.

Solvay Interox Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established