DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty Ltd
(AG2015/4240)

UNITED VOICE & THE VALSPAR (AUSTRALIA) CORPORATION PTY LIMITED ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 12 AUGUST 2015

Application for approval of the United Voice & The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty Limited Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the United Voice & The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty Limited Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty Ltd. 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] United Voice, 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.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 12 August 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 19 August 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 June 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty Ltd was the subject of an application by United Voice, a trade union, for the approval of the Enterprise Agreement 2015. This agreement, which was intended to regulate employment terms between the company and its employees, was brought before the Fair Work Commission. The crux of the dispute centred around whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in terms of procedural fairness and the provisions regarding employee protections. The Commission was tasked with determining if the agreement met the statutory requirements and if it was fair and reasonable in all its aspects.

The legal issues that the Fair Work Commission needed to resolve included whether the necessary procedural steps were adhered to during the negotiation of the agreement, whether the agreement appropriately balanced the interests of both the employees and the employer, and if the agreement provided adequate protections for employees as required by the Act. A significant part of the deliberation involved assessing whether the agreement allowed for genuine bargaining and if it contained all the mandatory terms that are enforceable under the Fair Work Act.

The Commission found that the agreement was largely compliant with the statutory requirements. It noted that the negotiation process had been procedurally fair and that the agreement appropriately balanced the interests of both parties. The Commission also determined that the agreement provided sufficient protections for employees and was fair and reasonable in all its aspects. Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Enterprise Agreement 2015, making it a legally binding document between The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty Ltd and its employees represented by United Voice.

The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established