Steggles Pty Limited
[2022] FWCA 4404
•14 DECEMBER 2022
| [2022] FWCA 4404 |
| FAIR WORK COMMISSION |
| DECISION |
Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement
Steggles Pty Limited
(AG2022/4419)
STEGGLES BERESFIELD SITE (PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION EMPLOYEES) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2022 – 2026
| Meat Industry | |
| COMMISSIONER P RYAN | SYDNEY, 14 DECEMBER 2022 |
Application for approval of the Steggles Beresfield Site (Production & Distribution Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2022 – 2026
Steggles Pty Ltd (Applicant) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Steggles Beresfield Site (Production & Distribution Employees) Enterprise Agreement 2022 – 2026 (Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.
Single Interest Employers / Coverage
The Agreement is expressed to cover three employers: the Applicant, Steggles Food Products Pty Ltd (Steggles Foods) and Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited (Bartter), in respect to their employees who fall within the scope of the classifications in the Agreement and who are employed at the facility located in Hawthorne Street, Beresfield in New South Wales.
I am satisfied on the materials before me that the Applicant, Steggles Foods and Bartter are related bodies corporate (see s.172(5)(b) of the FW Act). However, in response to a request by the Commission for a copy of the notice of employee representational rights (NERR) issued by Bartter, the Applicant advised that Bartter did not employ any employees that would fall within the scope of coverage in the Agreement and therefore, it did not issue a NERR.
The Applicant submitted that Bartter was erroneously included within the coverage term of the Agreement and requests that the Commission exercise its power pursuant to s.586(a) of the FW Act to amend the Agreement by deleting “Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited ABN 22 000 451 374” from Clause 5.1.
Section 586 Amendment
As noted above, the Applicant requests that the Commission exercise its power pursuant to s.586(a) of the FW Act to amend the Agreement by deleting “Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited ABN 22 000 451 374” from Clause 5.1.
Section 586(a) of the FW Act provides the Commission with a broad discretion to correct or amend an application, or other document relating to the matter before the Commission, on any terms that it considers appropriate.
Although the exercise of this discretion has been applied by the Commission in correcting an agreement that is before the Commission for approval pertaining to inaccuracies or other errors relating to that agreement[1], in Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation v Domain Aged Care (QLD) Pty Ltd T/A Opal Aged Care[2], Deputy Presidents Gostencnik and Saunders stated that corrections or amendments to agreements should be made sparingly.[3]
The Applicant submitted that both Daracon and CFMMEU involved almost identical circumstances to the matter before the Commission. The Applicant further submitted the amendment sought will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement, nor will it change or prejudice the group of employees who made and are covered by the Agreement, as Bartter did not employ any employees falling with the coverage of the Agreement.
The Applicant submitted that the amendment sought will not impact the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the Agreement.
Having regard to the materials before the Commission and the Applicant’s submissions, I am satisfied that the amendment should be made and that it is appropriate to do so. I also consider that it is appropriate to amend the Form F16 Application and Form F17 Declaration.
To the extent that the inclusion of “Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited ABN 22 000 451 374” in clause 5.1 of the Agreement constituted an error pursuant to s.180(2) and/or s.180(5) of the FW Act, I am satisfied that such errors would constitute minor technical errors taking into consideration the decision of the Full Bench in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others.[4] Furthermore, I am satisfied that no employee covered by the Agreement is likely to have been disadvantaged by the errors and that the Agreement was genuinely agreed within the meaning of s.188(1) of the FW Act.
Pursuant to s.586(a) of the FW Act, the Agreement is amended by deleting “Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited ABN 22 000 451 374” from clause 5.1 of the Agreement.
Pursuant to s.586(a) of the FW Act, the Forms F16 and F17 are amended by deleting:
(i)“Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited” (and its associated details) from section 2.3 of the Form F16; and
(ii)“Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited” and its ACN and ABN from section 1 of the Form F17.
Section 190 Undertakings
The Applicant and Steggles Foods 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.
Section 186, 187, 188 and 190
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.
Section 183 Bargaining representative
The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the FW Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it.
In accordance with s.201(2) of the FW Act, I note that the Agreement covers the AMIEU.
Approval
The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the FW Act, will operate from 21 December 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 4 October 2026.
COMMISSIONER
[1] See Application by Daracon Engineering Pty Ltd T/A Daracon [2019] FWCA 3842 (Daracon) and Application bv Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union [2022] FWCA 2553 (CFMMEU)
[2] [2019] FWCFB 1716
[3] Ibid at [52].
[4] [2019] FWCFB 318.
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