DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/5439)

NORTHSIDE FIRE PROTECTION AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION (VIC) FIRE PROTECTION AGREEMENT VICTORIA 2020-2023

Fire fighting services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 11 JUNE 2021

Application for approval of the Northside Fire Protection and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Fire Protection Agreement Victoria 2020-2023.

[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 Northside Fire Protection and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Fire Protection Agreement Victoria 2020-2023 (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 11 June 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 18 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

The application before the Fair Work Commission involved the approval of the Northside Fire Protection and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Fire Protection Agreement Victoria 2020-2023. The applicant, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, sought approval for the agreement to be an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on the terms of the agreement and whether they complied with the statutory requirements of the Act.

The legal issues before the court were whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, whether it was made in good faith, and whether it complied with the procedural requirements set out in the Act. The court also had to consider whether the agreement contained terms that were contrary to the provisions of the Act or that would have an adverse effect on employees.

The court found that the agreement met all the necessary criteria for approval. The agreement was found to be a genuine enterprise agreement that was made in good faith and complied with the procedural requirements of the Act. The court also found that the agreement did not contain any terms that were contrary to the Act or that would have an adverse effect on employees. The court approved the agreement, which will now be binding on the parties for the period of 2020 to 2023.

The final orders of the court were that the Northside Fire Protection and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Fire Protection Agreement Victoria 2020-2023 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. The agreement will now be binding on the parties for the specified period, and any disputes arising under the agreement will be resolved in accordance with the provisions of the 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