DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/4442)

MASTECH SERVICES PTY LTD AND THE CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION VICTORIAN BRANCH COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION & SERVICE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019-2022

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 7 APRIL 2021

Application for approval of the Mastech Services Pty Ltd and the CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Commercial Refrigeration & Service Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022.

[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 Mastech Services Pty Ltd and the CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Commercial Refrigeration & Service Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement. 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.

[2] 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.

[3] The Agreement was approved on 7 April 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 14 April 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The dispute arose between the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and Mastech Services Pty Ltd. The union sought approval of the Enterprise Agreement between the two parties covering the period from 2019 to 2022. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission. The union argued that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and should be approved. Conversely, the employer contended that the agreement did not satisfy certain statutory criteria and should not be approved.

The legal issues before the Commission centred on whether the Enterprise Agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether it met the genuine agreement test, the public interest test, and the occupational test. The union asserted that the agreement was a genuine bargain between the parties, that it was in the public interest, and that it met the occupational test. The employer argued that the agreement failed to meet these criteria. The Commission had to determine whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, in the public interest, and met the occupational test.

The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated, in the public interest, and met the occupational test. It determined that the union had acted within its powers in negotiating the agreement, and that the agreement was in the public interest. The Commission also found that the agreement met the occupational test, as it was confined to matters within the occupation described in the agreement. Accordingly, the Commission approved the Enterprise Agreement. The Commission made an order approving the Enterprise Agreement between the union and Mastech Services Pty Ltd, covering the period from 2019 to 2022.

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