DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Sonac Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2019/2537)

SONAC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019-2023

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 19 AUGUST 2019

Application for approval of the Sonac Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sonac Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Sonac Australia Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] The employer did not notify relevant employees of the place at which the vote took place. Pursuant to s.188(2), I am satisfied that the agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor procedural error made in relation to the requirement in s.180(3). I am satisfied that the employees covered by the agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[5] 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 26 August 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A:

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Sonac Australia Pty Ltd, a company involved in the manufacture and distribution of beverages, was before the Fair Work Commission in an application for approval of the Sonac Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for the company's employees and the process by which the agreement was negotiated. The Fair Work Commission was required to determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues that the Commission had to address were whether the agreement was made in good faith, whether the bargaining was conducted in a manner that was genuinely attempting to make an agreement, and whether the agreement met the "better off overall test". Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement contained terms that were contrary to the provisions of the National Employment Standards and whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act’s requirement for direct communication between the parties.

In its decision, the Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and that the bargaining process was genuine. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement met the better off overall test and that it did not contain any terms that were contrary to the National Employment Standards. The Commission also found that the agreement complied with the statutory requirement for direct communication between the parties. Having found that the agreement met all of the statutory requirements for approval, the Commission approved the Sonac Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023.

Sonac Australia Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established