DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Company Holdings Limited
(AG2016/4188)

WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE & BUTTER FACTORY CO LTD MAINTENANCE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 5 SEPTEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co Ltd Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co Ltd Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Company Holdings Limited. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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.

[3] 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.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 September 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Company Holdings Limited (the company) filed an application seeking the Fair Work Commission's approval of the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co Ltd Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2016. The Fair Work Commission (the Commission) was asked to determine if the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) for a maintenance enterprise agreement. The applicant's employees, represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, did not object to the application.

The primary legal issue the Commission needed to address was whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act. This involved examining whether the agreement was certified as a simple, low risk, or greenfields agreement and whether the Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith. The Commission had to ensure that the agreement did not undermine the safety and health of employees or any other protections provided by the Act.

The Commission determined that the application met the procedural requirements set out in the Act. It noted that the agreement had been certified as a simple agreement, meaning it did not cover matters that would have required a more rigorous certification process. The Commission was also satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and did not adversely affect the safety and health of employees or any other protections provided by the Act. The Commission concluded that the agreement was fair and appropriate and approved it.

The Commission ordered that the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co Ltd Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2016 be approved and registered with the Commission. The agreement was to be in effect from the date of registration and would remain in force until it was terminated, varied, or replaced by a new enterprise agreement. The approval of the agreement allowed it to be applied to the employees covered by the agreement and provided certainty for both the company and its employees.

Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Company Holdings Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established