DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/5422)

SOUTHERN CROSS PLUMBING & CONTRACTING PTY LTD AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION (VIC) PLUMBING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2023

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 9 JUNE 2021

Application for approval of the Southern Cross Plumbing & Contracting Pty Ltd 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 Southern Cross Plumbing & Contracting Pty Ltd 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 of the 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 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 9 June 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 16 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 matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for the approval of a new enterprise agreement between the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and Southern Cross Plumbing & Contracting Pty Ltd. The union and the employer had entered into a Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023, which they sought to have approved by the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred on the provisions of the proposed agreement and whether it met the necessary standards for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The key legal issues the Commission had to decide were whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including whether it provided for minimum terms and conditions, whether it was free from prohibited content, and whether it was made in good faith and without coercion. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient system of dispute resolution and whether it met the 'better off overall test', meaning that the employees would be no worse off and at least some would be better off financially under the new agreement.

In assessing these issues, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was generally compliant with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for minimum terms and conditions and did not contain any prohibited content. It was also satisfied that the agreement had been made in good faith and without coercion. Regarding the dispute resolution provisions, the Commission found them to be fair and efficient. Finally, the Commission determined that the agreement met the better off overall test, as it provided for a range of financial and non-financial benefits to employees.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement will now apply to employees of Southern Cross Plumbing & Contracting Pty Ltd and the union members covered by 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