Steggles Foods Products Pty Limited Summary

[2024] FWCA 2968

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Steggles Foods Products Pty Limited

(AG2024/2737)

STEGGLES BERESFIELD SITE (MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 - 2028

Poultry processing
DEPUTY PRESIDENT ROBERTS	SYDNEY, 12 AUGUST 2024

Application for approval of the Steggles Beresfield Site (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2028

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Steggles Beresfield Site (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2028 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Steggles Foods Products Pty Limited (the Applicant). The Agreement covers the Applicant and Bartter Enterprises Pty Ltd (Bartter). The Commission was advised that the Applicant and Bartter are related employers within the meaning of s.172(5A) of the Act. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) issued to employees at the notification time was in a form previously prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009. I am satisfied that this is a minor technical error and that employees were not disadvantaged by the error. I propose to disregard the error under s.188(5) of the Act.

The Applicant has provided written undertakings. In accordance with s.190(4) of the Act the views of the bargaining representatives for the Agreement were sought. 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as is relevant to this application for approval has been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Noting clause 5.3 of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES in the Act will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, Electrical Division (CEPU) and the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) each lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration giving notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover their respective unions. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note the Agreement covers the CEPU and the AMWU.

The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 12 March 2028.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In this matter, Steggles Foods Products Pty Limited sought approval for the Steggles Beresfield Site (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2028. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission. The parties involved in the dispute were Steggles Foods Products Pty Limited, the employer, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, representing the employees. The crux of the dispute centred around the terms and conditions of the proposed enterprise agreement, which was to govern the employment relationship between the company and its maintenance employees at the Beresfield site over the specified period.

The legal issues that the Commission needed to address included whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions, and whether it was certified as a bargain genuinely made between the parties. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement complied with the "better off overall test" and whether it was consistent with the national minimum standards of employment.

The Fair Work Commission meticulously reviewed the proposed agreement and the evidence presented by both parties. The Commission noted that the agreement contained provisions that were fair and reasonable, and that it had been genuinely negotiated between the employer and the union. The Commission also found that the agreement met the "better off overall test" as it provided for a fair and reasonable improvement in the terms and conditions of employment for the maintenance employees. Consequently, the Commission approved the Steggles Beresfield Site (Maintenance Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2028, finding it to be compliant with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The approval of the agreement was formally recorded and the parties were directed to implement the terms as per the approved document.

Steggles Foods Products Pty Limited

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established