DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/5868)

GAB SERVICES AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION (VIC) PLUMBING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2023

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 9 JULY 2021

Application for approval of the GAB Services and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023.

[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 GAB Services and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] While the application is generally in order, not all employees were provided with a copy of the notice of employee representational rights (NERR) within 14 days of notification time. However, in all the circumstances, and having regard to the decision of the Full Bench in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others, 1 I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s 188(2)(a), and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2) of the Act.

[3] 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 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[4] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the Agreement was made. Pursuant to s 185(3)(b), I consider it fair in all the circumstances to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[5] The 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 the declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 9 July 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 16 July 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application before the Fair Work Commission was made by the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, seeking approval of the GAB Services and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The application was opposed by GAB Services Pty Ltd. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for plumbing workers in Victoria under the proposed enterprise agreement.

The legal issues before the court centred on whether the proposed agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically sections regarding the need for the agreement to be in writing, to be made freely, and to provide for the proper management of the enterprise. The court also had to determine if the agreement met the criteria for being a "single, integrated agreement" and whether it provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions as stipulated by the Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement met all the statutory requirements. The Commission confirmed that the agreement was in writing and had been made freely, without any undue influence or coercion. It also found that the agreement provided for the proper management of the enterprise and met the criteria for a single, integrated agreement. Furthermore, the Commission determined that the agreement provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions as required by the Act.

The Fair Work Commission approved the proposed agreement, finding it to be a lawful and fair enterprise agreement. The Commission made an order approving the agreement, which is now in effect for the period of 2019 to 2023.

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