DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2020/2634)

BROWN & MOODIE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION MECHANICAL UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2019-2022

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 14 SEPTEMBER 2020

Application for approval of the Brown & Moodie Australia Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Mechanical Union Collective Agreement 2019-2022.

[1] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and the Allied Services Union of Australia has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Brown & Moodie Australia Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Mechanical Union Collective Agreement 2019-2022 (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 statutory 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.

[3] 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 14 September 2020 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 21 September 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEEPIU) filed an application for the approval of the Brown & Moodie Australia Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Mechanical Union Collective Agreement 2019-2022. The applicant union represented the employees of the respondent employer, Brown & Moodie Australia Pty Ltd, in the mechanical plumbing division. The parties had reached an agreement, and the union sought the commission's approval of the terms as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the commission were whether the agreement complied with the relevant statutory provisions and whether it met the requirements for registration under the Fair Work Act. The commission examined whether the agreement contained permissible matters, was free from prohibited content, and whether it was made in good faith and without the influence of any improper conduct. The commission also assessed the fairness of the agreement's terms and conditions in the context of the enterprise.

The commission found that the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act, containing only permissible matters and free from prohibited content. The commission determined that the agreement was made in good faith and without any improper conduct. The commission considered the terms and conditions of the agreement to be fair and reasonable, taking into account the specific circumstances of the enterprise and the bargaining positions of the parties. The commission approved the agreement, registering it under the Fair Work Act for the period of 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