Valvoline Australia Pty Ltd

[2020] FWCA 90

[2020] FWCA 90

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Valvoline Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2019/4649)

VALVOLINE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD WESTERN AUSTRALIA WAREHOUSING EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2021

Oil and gas industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MANSINI	MELBOURNE, 8 JANUARY 2020

Application for approval of the Valvoline (Australia) Pty Ltd Western Australia Warehousing Employees Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2021.

[1] Valvoline Australia Pty Ltd has applied for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Valvoline (Australia) Pty Ltd Western Australia Warehousing Employees Enterprise Agreement 2019 – 2021 (the Agreement), pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act).

[2] Since the application was made, the Commission raised concerns about whether the pre-approval requirements were met and the Agreement contravenes s.55 of the Act. Further information was provided in relation to these concerns.

[3] The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (Notice) issued at the commencement of bargaining was not strictly compliant with the requirements of s.174 because it included additional content (a date of issue). The Notice was otherwise compliant in all respects. In the circumstances and having regard to the decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited t/a RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics and Others 1, I am satisfied that:

a) this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s.188(2)(a); and

b) the employees to be covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error.

[4] Accordingly, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s.188(2) of the Act.

[5] Noting clause 6(c) of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the National Employment Standards in the Act (NES) will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

[6] On the basis of the material contained in the application and further information provided on request of the Commission, 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.

[7] The Agreement was approved on 8 January 2020 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 15 January 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2021.

[8] For the purposes of publication, the signature page of the Agreement has been redacted in part, for confidentiality and as the enterprise agreement when made did not contain the redacted details. 2

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE506697 PR715774>

 1   [2019] FWCFB 318.

 2   The Australian Workers’ Union v Oji Foodservice Packaging Solutions (Aus) Pty Ltd [2018] FWCFB 7501.