DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/6092)

PREMIUM POWER GROUP PTY LTD & ETU NSW CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 21 JULY 2021

Application for approval of the Premium Power Group Pty Ltd & ETU NSW Construction Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Premium Power Group Pty Ltd & ETU NSW Construction Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] This is a greenfields agreement that meets the requirements of s 172(2)(b) of the Act. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186 and 187 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval has been met. In accordance with s 187(5) of the Act, I am satisfied that the 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, and that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[3] I note that pursuant to s 53(2)(b) of the Act, the Agreement was made with the CEPU and that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 21 July 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 28 July 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for approval of the Premium Power Group Pty Ltd & ETU NSW Construction Enterprise Agreement 2021. The applicant, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), sought to have the agreement recognised as a protected action immunity agreement. The dispute centred on the terms of the agreement and whether they met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues that the Fair Work Commission had to resolve included whether the agreement provided for the fair and equitable treatment of employees, whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act, and whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties. Additionally, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it covered.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met the criteria for approval. The Commission determined that the agreement provided for the fair and equitable treatment of employees and complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. Furthermore, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties. The Commission concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it covered and approved the application for the Premium Power Group Pty Ltd & ETU NSW Construction Enterprise Agreement 2021. The Fair Work Commission's decision provided clarity on the requirements for protected action immunity agreements and ensured that the rights and interests of employees were protected under the Fair Work Act.

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established