DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2020/1805)

D&E AIR CONDITIONING PTY LTD & CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION - NSW BRANCH MECHANICAL ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019-2023

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 10 JULY 2020

Application for approval of the D&E Air Conditioning Pty Ltd & CEPU Plumbing Division - NSW Branch Mechanical Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023.

[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 D&E Air Conditioning Pty Ltd & CEPU Plumbing Division - NSW Branch Mechanical 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] 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 10 July 2020 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 17 July 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, who brought an application for the approval of the D&E Air Conditioning Pty Ltd & CEPU Plumbing Division - NSW Branch Mechanical Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023. The dispute centred on whether the enterprise agreement should be certified as a single, simplified, and fair agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The court was required to determine several legal issues, including whether the agreement met the legislative requirements for simplification and fairness. This involved examining if the agreement contained only the key terms of employment, if it was written in plain language, and if it included all the minimum entitlements provided for in the relevant modern awards. The court also needed to ensure that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the employer and the union, and that it did not undermine the operation of the modern award.

In its reasoning, the court found that the agreement met the legislative criteria for approval. It was concluded that the agreement was a single document containing the key terms of employment and was written in a manner that was reasonably understandable. The agreement was also found to include all the minimum entitlements set out in the relevant modern awards and to have been genuinely negotiated. The court was satisfied that the agreement did not undermine the operation of the modern award and was therefore fair and simplified. Consequently, the court approved the enterprise agreement, finding it to be compliant with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The final orders of the court were that the D&E Air Conditioning Pty Ltd & CEPU Plumbing Division - NSW Branch Mechanical Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023 be approved as a single, simplified, and fair agreement. The agreement was certified to be in effect from the date of the court's approval and would remain in force until the end of its specified term, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of the agreement or the Fair Work Act 2009.

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