DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Sonac Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2015/6055)

SONAC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 13 NOVEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the Sonac Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sonac Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015 (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 Applicant 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] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[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 was approved on 13 November 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 20 November 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Sonac Australia Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Sonac Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015 before the Fair Work Commission. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment as outlined in the proposed agreement. The applicants, Sonac Australia Pty Ltd, sought the Commission's endorsement of the agreement, which was intended to govern the employment of its staff.

The central legal issues the court needed to address were whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it adhered to the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements. The court examined whether the agreement contained all the mandated terms, if it was free from prohibited content, and if it had been fairly negotiated. Additionally, the court assessed whether the agreement met the criteria for being a single, indivisible enterprise agreement and whether it appropriately covered all employees within the defined bargaining unit.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement substantially complied with the statutory requirements. The court noted that the agreement included all mandated terms, did not contain any prohibited content, and was the product of genuine bargaining between the parties. The Commission held that the agreement was a single, indivisible document and adequately covered the entire bargaining unit. Consequently, the court approved the Sonac Australia Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015.

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