Visy Packaging Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 1595

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Visy Packaging Pty Ltd
(AG2014/286)

VISY BEVERAGE MOORABBIN AND AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014-2018

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 6 MARCH 2014

Application for approval of the Visy Beverage Moorabbin and Australian Workers’ Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Visy Beverage Moorabbin and Australian Workers’ Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Visy Packaging Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] An undertaking has been given in relation to several clauses of the Agreement and this undertaking have become terms of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(1) of the Act and are appended at Appendix A.

[4] 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. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 13 March 2014.The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 3 January 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Visy Packaging Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Visy Beverage Moorabbin and Australian Workers’ Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018. The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union opposed the application on the basis that the agreement did not meet the requirements of section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009 for an enterprise agreement to be approved by the Commission. The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement contained a proper description of the employer, the employees and the terms and conditions of employment, and whether the agreement was made in good faith and contained appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Commission found that the agreement contained a proper description of the employer and the employees, and that the terms and conditions of employment were clear and unambiguous. However, the Commission was concerned that the agreement did not contain an explicit statement of the employer’s good faith obligations, or a dispute resolution mechanism that was appropriate for the enterprise. The employer argued that it had acted in good faith throughout the bargaining process, and that the dispute resolution mechanism provided for in the agreement was appropriate for the enterprise. The Commission accepted the employer’s arguments and approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Visy Beverage Moorabbin and Australian Workers’ Enterprise Agreement 2014-2018. The agreement will now be registered and will apply to the employees covered by the enterprise agreement. The parties are bound by the terms and conditions of employment set out in the agreement, and are required to comply with the dispute resolution mechanism provided for in the agreement. The employer is also required to act in good faith in its dealings with the employees and the union.

Visy Packaging Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established