DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/4708)

TACTICAL FIRE PTY LTD & CEPU NSW/NFIA SPRINKLER FITTING FIRE PROTECTION UNION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT NSW & ACT 2020-2024

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 29 APRIL 2021

Application for approval of the Tactical Fire Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Tactical Fire Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) includes the date the document was provided to employees, as well as the name and position of the employer signatory. This raises the issue that the NERR is not in its prescribed form as required by s.174(1A) of the Act. However, I am satisfied that in all of the circumstances and having regard to Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others 1, this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purpose of s.188(2)(a). Further, I am satisfied that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to be disadvantaged by the error.

[5] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 6 May 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 29 February 2024.

COMMISSIONER

Annexure A

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 the Tactical Fire Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024. The applicant was the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, and the dispute centred on whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the necessary legal standards for approval. The case was heard by the Fair Work Commission, an independent statutory body with the authority to make binding decisions on employment-related matters in Australia.

The primary legal issues the Fair Work Commission needed to address were whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, whether it complied with the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it contained any unfair provisions that would render it invalid. The Commission had to scrutinise the agreement to ensure it was made in good faith and did not contain any terms that would be detrimental to the employees' rights or the overall fairness of the workplace arrangement.

In deliberating on these issues, the Fair Work Commission examined the negotiation process of the agreement, the fairness of its terms, and its compliance with the statutory requirements. The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and met the necessary criteria for approval. The terms were deemed fair, and the agreement did not contain any unfair provisions that would undermine the rights of the employees or the principles of good faith bargaining. Consequently, the Commission approved the Tactical Fire Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024.

The Fair Work Commission's decision was based on the evidence presented and the legal framework governing enterprise agreements. The Commission concluded that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, complied with the Fair Work Act 2009, and did not contain any unfair provisions. As a result, the application for approval was successful, and the enterprise agreement was registered under 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