DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Viscount Plastics Australia Pty Ltd T/A Viscount Plastics
(AG2019/2727)

VISCOUNT PLASTICS BRAESIDE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MILLHOUSE	MELBOURNE, 5 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Viscount Plastics Braeside Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Viscount Plastics Braeside Enterprise Agreement 2019 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Viscount Plastics Australia Pty Ltd T/A Viscount Plastics. 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.

[1] The Australian Workers’ Union 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.

[2] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 September 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Viscount Plastics Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Viscount Plastics, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Viscount Plastics Braeside Enterprise Agreement 2019. The company sought to have the agreement, which was to cover its employees in Braeside, approved under section 186 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on the procedural and substantive fairness of the agreement.

The legal issues before the commission were whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act, including whether it had been made in good faith and whether the employees had been adequately consulted. Viscount Plastics argued that it had conducted genuine bargaining and that the agreement reflected the reasonable needs of the business. The employees, represented by the Transport Workers Union, contended that the agreement had not been made in good faith and that the process had not adequately consulted them.

The commission found that Viscount Plastics had genuinely bargained and that the agreement reflected the reasonable needs of the business. It determined that the company had made the agreement in good faith and that the employees had been adequately consulted. The commission was satisfied that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including the provisions on procedural fairness. The application for approval was therefore granted, and the Viscount Plastics Braeside Enterprise Agreement 2019 was approved.

Viscount Plastics Australia Pty Ltd T/A Viscount Plastics

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established