Tatura Milk Industries Limited

[2014] FWCA 1404

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Tatura Milk Industries Limited
(AG2013/12053)

TATURA MILK INDUSTRIES LIMITED AND THE NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS PRODUCTION AND WAREHOUSE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT KOVACIC	MELBOURNE, 28 FEBRUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Tatura Milk Industries Limited and the National Union of Workers Production and Warehouse Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Tatura Milk Industries Limited and the National Union of Workers Production and Warehouse Enterprise Agreement 2013 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Tatura Milk Industries Limited. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] Subject to concerns that have been addressed by way of undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] As noted, pursuant to s.190(3), I have accepted undertakings from Tatura Milk Industries Limited. In accordance with s.191(1) of the Act the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertakings are attached to this decision.

[4] The National Union of Workers, 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 March 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties in the matter of Tatura Milk Industries Limited involved the company itself and the National Union of Workers, who had entered into a proposed Enterprise Agreement. This application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, where the primary objective was to seek the Commission's approval of the terms and conditions set out in the proposed Enterprise Agreement. The dispute revolved around the procedural fairness of the agreement's negotiation process and the overall suitability of the agreement's provisions for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Fair Work Commission had to determine several legal issues, including whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it complied with the procedural fairness requirements under the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the Commission needed to assess if the agreement contained all the mandatory terms and whether it provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests. The Commission also had to consider the fairness of the terms and conditions in the context of the broader industrial relations system.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission determined that the proposed Enterprise Agreement met the criteria for approval. The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated, and all procedural fairness requirements were satisfied. The agreement was deemed to comply with the mandatory terms set out in the Fair Work Act, and the Commission concluded that the terms and conditions were fair and reasonable. The Commission approved the Tatura Milk Industries Limited and the National Union of Workers Production and Warehouse Enterprise Agreement 2013, considering it to be in the best interests of the employees and the employer.

No specific final orders were mentioned in the decision. However, the approval of the Enterprise Agreement would have legal effect from the date of the decision, binding both the employer and the employees to the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement. The decision was made to ensure that the agreement would provide a fair and balanced framework for the industrial relationship between Tatura Milk Industries Limited and the National Union of Workers.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established