ADJ Contracting Pty Ltd Summary

[2021] FWCA 7277

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

ADJ Contracting Pty Ltd
(AG2021/8856)

ADJ CONTRACTING AND ETU ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021 - 2025

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 23 DECEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the ADJ Contracting and ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 - 2025

[1] ADJ Contracting Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the ADJ Contracting and ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 - 2025 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The employer has provided a written undertaking, a copy of which is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that it will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement. Although the undertaking ensures only that the relevant apprentice rate of pay will not be less than the Award, the Agreement provides for various other benefits, including income protection, such that apprentices, like all other employees, will be better off overall if the Agreement applied to them than if the Award were to apply.

[3] Subject to the undertaking referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[4] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), 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) and based on its declaration, I note that the Agreement covers the CEPU.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 23 December 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 30 December 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

ADJ Contracting Pty Ltd, an employer, sought approval of the ADJ Contracting and ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021-2025 from the Fair Work Commission. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, and the dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment of workers under the agreement. The Commission, consisting of Deputy President J D H, Commissioner S and Commissioner C, was tasked with determining whether the agreement should be approved.

The legal issues before the Commission involved whether the agreement met the requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it provided for a minimum rate of pay and conditions that were no less favourable than the relevant award or safety net award, and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining provisions. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and whether it promoted harmonious, productive and cooperative workplace relations.

In reaching its decision, the Commission considered the submissions of the parties and the evidence presented. The Commission found that the agreement provided for a minimum rate of pay and conditions that were no less favourable than the relevant award, and that it complied with the good faith bargaining provisions. The Commission also found that the agreement promoted harmonious, productive and cooperative workplace relations and was in the best interests of the employees. Therefore, the Commission approved the agreement, and it will now apply to the workers covered by it.

ADJ Contracting Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established