DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Swire Cold Storage Pty Ltd T/A Swire Cold Storage
(AG2016/1154)

SWIRE COLD STORAGE BRISBANE DISTRIBUTION OPERATIONS (CLERICAL EMPLOYEES) WORKPLACE AGREEMENT 2016

Clerical industry
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 16 JUNE 2016

Application for approval of the Swire Cold Storage Brisbane Distribution Operations (Clerical Employees) Workplace Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Swire Cold Storage Brisbane Distribution Operations (Clerical Employees) Workplace Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Swire Cold Storage Pty Ltd T/A Swire Cold Storage. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval 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.

[3] The Agreement was approved on 16 June 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 23 June 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Swire Cold Storage Pty Ltd trading as Swire Cold Storage, sought approval of the Swire Cold Storage Brisbane Distribution Operations (Clerical Employees) Workplace Agreement 2016. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically seeking to have the agreement registered as a registered agreement. The nature of the dispute was centred on whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for registration, including the necessity for the agreement to have been made in good faith and for the purposes of creating an industrial instrument, and whether it contained the minimum terms and conditions as prescribed by the Fair Work Act.

The primary legal issues before the court involved the interpretation and application of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the agreement was made in good faith and for the purposes of creating an industrial instrument, as well as whether the agreement contained the minimum terms and conditions required by the Act. The court also considered whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements set out in the Act, including the necessity for the agreement to be in writing and for the parties to have provided certain information to the Fair Work Commission.

In its reasoning, the court examined the terms of the agreement and the circumstances surrounding its creation. The court found that the agreement was made in good faith and for the purposes of creating an industrial instrument. The court also found that the agreement contained all the minimum terms and conditions required by the Act. Furthermore, the court determined that the agreement complied with the procedural requirements of the Act. Given these findings, the court approved the agreement and registered it as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act.

The court's final order was that the Swire Cold Storage Brisbane Distribution Operations (Clerical Employees) Workplace Agreement 2016 be approved and registered as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The court found that the agreement met all the necessary statutory requirements and was in the best interests of the employees and the employer. The court's decision provides clarity on the requirements for registering workplace agreements under the Fair Work Act, and it sets a precedent for future applications of this nature.

Swire Cold Storage Pty Ltd T/A Swire Cold Storage

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established