DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2020/2585)

BSA ADVANCED PROPERTY SOLUTIONS (FIRE) PTY LTD & CEPU NSW/NFIA SPRINKLER FITTING FIRE PROTECTION UNION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT NSW & ACT 2020-2024

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 11 SEPTEMBER 2020

Application for approval of the BSA Advanced Property Solutions (Fire) Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024.

[1] Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the BSA Advanced Property Solutions (Fire) Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). 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, and 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, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 11 September 2020 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 18 September 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 29 February 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia brought an application for approval of the BSA Advanced Property Solutions (Fire) Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024. The dispute arose from negotiations between the union and the employer regarding terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the proposed enterprise agreement. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement should be approved under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under section 231 of the Fair Work Act, and whether the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were fair and reasonable. Specifically, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement complied with the "better off overall test" and whether it contained any terms that were not in the best interests of the employees.

In assessing the agreement, the Commission considered the bargaining positions of the parties, the nature of the enterprise, and the provisions of the agreement itself. The Commission found that the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were fair and reasonable, and that it met the "better off overall test." The Commission was satisfied that the agreement contained provisions that were in the best interests of the employees and that it complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act.

As a result, the Commission approved the BSA Advanced Property Solutions (Fire) Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement is now a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act, and will govern the terms and conditions of employment for the employees 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