The Trustee For The Riverina Cheese Unit Trust T/A Riverina Dairy Co

[2022] FWCA 2392

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Trustee For The Riverina Cheese Unit Trust T/A Riverina Dairy Co

(AG2022/2338)

Riverina Dairy Enterprise Agreement 2022

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER O'NEILL	MELBOURNE, 20 JULY 2022

Application for approval of the Riverina Dairy Enterprise Agreement 2022

Riverina Dairy Co has applied for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Riverina Dairy Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and is a single enterprise agreement.

The agreement title in the Notice of Representational Rights (NERR) distributed to employees is slightly different to the agreement title in clause 1 of the Agreement. Further, some employees may not have been provided with details of the vote at the start of the access period as required by s.180(3) of the Act. However, considering that all employees cast a valid vote, I am satisfied the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor procedural departure from the requirements of s.180(3) and the minor technical departure from the NERR requirements under s.174, and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by these errors. Accordingly, I exercise the discretion conferred by s.188(2) of the Act.

The Employer 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

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.

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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 27 July 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved the trustee of the Riverina Cheese Unit Trust, trading as Riverina Dairy Co, who sought approval for the Riverina Dairy Enterprise Agreement 2022. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission, which had jurisdiction to determine whether the agreement should be approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Act and if it was in the best interests of the employees.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement met the procedural requirements for approval, including the necessity of a majority vote and adequate disclosure. Furthermore, the Commission had to assess whether the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were no less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award, and whether it contained provisions that were fair and reasonable in all respects. Another aspect was whether the agreement appropriately balanced the rights and obligations of both the employer and employees.

In its decision, the Commission found that the application for approval of the enterprise agreement was made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act. The Commission noted that the agreement had been voted for by a majority of the relevant employees and that the employer had provided adequate disclosure. The Commission also determined that the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were no less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award, and that the agreement contained provisions that were fair and reasonable in all respects. The Commission concluded that the agreement appropriately balanced the rights and obligations of both the employer and employees. Consequently, the Commission approved the Riverina Dairy Enterprise Agreement 2022.

The Commission's final order was that the Riverina Dairy Enterprise Agreement 2022 be approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered with the Commission and would apply to the employees covered by the agreement from the date of registration. The employer was required to provide a copy of the approved agreement to each employee and to ensure that the agreement was implemented in accordance with its terms. The employees were entitled to the protections and benefits provided for in the approved agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established