Woolworths Ltd

[2013] FWCA 8313

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Woolworths Ltd
(AG2013/9796)

WOOLWORTHS LIMITED TOWNSVILLE REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTRE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Storage services
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 23 OCTOBER 2013

Application for approval of the Woolworths Limited Townsville Regional Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Woolworths Limited Townsville Regional Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Woolworths Ltd (the Applicant). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Workers’ Union has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 October 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 September 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Woolworths Limited, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Townsville Regional Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2013. The applicant sought to have the agreement registered under the Fair Work Act 2009 to ensure that its employees were covered by the terms of the agreement. The dispute arose from a disagreement over whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Act.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement contained all the necessary minimum terms required by section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and whether it complied with procedural requirements such as the notice provisions and the independent assessment of the agreement's compliance with the safety net provisions.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement contained all the necessary minimum terms as required by the Act. The Commission also determined that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and met the procedural requirements for approval. The independent assessment confirmed that the agreement complied with the safety net provisions of the Act. As a result, the Commission approved the agreement and registered it under the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision allowed Woolworths Limited to enforce the terms of the agreement against its employees in the Townsville Regional Distribution Centre.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established