DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2020/2598)

ARA FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES PTY LTD AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION FIRE SERVICES UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2019-2022

Fire fighting services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 11 SEPTEMBER 2020

Application for approval of the ARA Fire Protection Services Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Fire services Union Collective Agreement 2019-2022.

[1] The 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 ARA Fire Protection Services Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Fire services 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 11 September 2020 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 18 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

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for the approval of a collective agreement between the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and Fire Protection Services Pty Ltd. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment outlined in the proposed agreement for the period 2019-2022. The court was required to assess whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act.

The key legal issues before the court were whether the proposed agreement provided for the payment of minimum rates of pay and conditions, and whether it complied with the applicable provisions of the Fair Work Act. The court was also required to determine if the agreement met the criteria for being a registered agreement and if it provided for the resolution of workplace disputes in accordance with the Act.

In delivering the decision, the court examined the provisions of the Fair Work Act and the terms of the proposed agreement. It found that the agreement provided for the payment of minimum rates of pay and conditions, and that it complied with the applicable provisions of the Act. The court also found that the agreement met the criteria for being a registered agreement and that it provided for the resolution of workplace disputes in accordance with the Act. As a result, the court approved the agreement.

The final orders of the court were that the proposed collective agreement between the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and Fire Protection Services Pty Ltd for the period 2019-2022 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would apply to the employees of Fire Protection Services Pty Ltd who were members of the union.

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