DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/5506)

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

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 15 JUNE 2021

Application for approval of the Consolidated Plumbing 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 Consolidated Plumbing 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, the employees were not 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 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 15 June 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 22 June 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, the Fair Work Commission was called upon to consider an application for the approval of the Consolidated Plumbing and CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The Union sought to have the agreement, which was the result of collective bargaining with employers in the plumbing industry, endorsed as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. This would provide the agreement with the authority to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by it.

The central legal issues before the Commission related to the compliance of the agreement with the statutory requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act. This included ensuring that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated, that it did not contravene the provisions concerning minimum entitlements, and that it was in accordance with the general protections against adverse action. Furthermore, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement provided for a safety net of minimum terms and conditions, and whether it met the requirements for being considered a "single, simple and coherent" agreement.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission examined the evidence presented by the Union and the employers, including the negotiation process and the contents of the agreement. The Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties and that it complied with the statutory requirements. The Commission determined that the agreement provided a safety net of minimum terms and conditions, and that it was a single, simple, and coherent agreement. Consequently, the Commission approved the Consolidated Plumbing and CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023, and it was registered under the Fair Work Act.

The final orders of the Commission included the approval and registration of the Consolidated Plumbing and CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement, which sets out the terms and conditions of employment for employees in the plumbing industry in Victoria, will now have the force of a registered agreement, and will regulate the employment relationship between the parties for the duration of the agreement.

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