Appselec Qld Pty Ltd Summary

[2024] FWCA 3018

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Appselec Qld Pty Ltd

(AG2024/3027)

APPSELEC QLD PTY LTD AND CEPU ELECTRICAL DIVISION QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023 - 2026

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 16 AUGUST 2024

Application for approval of the Appselec Qld Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023 - 2026

An application has been made for approval of a greenfields agreement known as the Appselec Qld Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023 - 2026 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a greenfields agreement. It has been made by Appselec Qld Pty Ltd.

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. In particular, I am satisfied that Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

Pursuant to s.53(2)(b) of the Act I note the Agreement was made with CEPU and that the Agreement covers this organisation.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1) of the Act, will operate from 23 August 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 July 2026.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Appselec Qld Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Appselec Qld Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023 - 2026. The application was brought in accordance with section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The primary dispute concerned the procedural fairness of the bargaining process and the extent to which the agreement was in the interests of the employees, employers, and the community.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it met the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission needed to assess the process by which the agreement was negotiated, the content of the agreement, and its compliance with the Act, including the "better off overall test" and the "public interest test." The Commission also considered whether the agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms for dispute resolution.

In considering these issues, the Commission reviewed the evidence provided by the parties and found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees' representatives. The Commission was satisfied that the process was procedurally fair and that the agreement met the requirements of the Act. The Commission found that the agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms for dispute resolution and that it was in the interests of the employees, employers, and the community. The Commission approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Appselec Qld Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023 - 2026 in accordance with section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

Appselec Qld Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established