DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/3927)

BURELLI ROOFING PTY LTD AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION (VIC) PLUMBING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2023

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 5 MARCH 2021

Application for approval of the Burelli Roofing 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 Burelli Roofing 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] 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. The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s 185(3)(b), I consider it fair in all the circumstances to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 5 March 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 12 March 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

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 Burelli Roofing Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The union and the employer submitted the agreement for endorsement, seeking to have it recognised as a registered agreement that would regulate employment terms and conditions for the employees within the specified period.

The central legal issues that the Fair Work Commission had to address included whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly sections concerning the scope of the agreement, the process through which it was negotiated, and whether it included all mandatory terms as required by the legislation. The Commission needed to ensure that the agreement was made in good faith, did not discriminate unjustly, and was appropriate for the employees it covered.

The Fair Work Commission, after reviewing the submissions and evidence provided, found that the agreement met all the statutory requirements. The agreement was negotiated in good faith and did not include any discriminatory provisions. It was comprehensive, covering all mandatory terms and conditions necessary for its registration. The Commission concluded that the agreement was fair and appropriate for the employees it sought to cover, and therefore approved it as a registered agreement under the Act.

As a result of the approval, the Burelli Roofing Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023 was endorsed and became a legally binding document governing the employment terms and conditions for the relevant employees for the specified period.

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