DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2020/175)

EUREKA ELECTRICAL AND INSTRUMENTATION AND ETU GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2018-2021

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 10 FEBRUARY 2020

Application for approval of the Eureka Electrical and Instrumentation and ETU Greenfields Agreement 2018-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Eureka Electrical and Instrumentation and ETU Greenfields Agreement 2018-2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia. 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 have 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 February 2020 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 17 February 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The dispute in the case involved the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, and related unions, against the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. The union sought approval for the Eureka Electrical and Instrumentation and ETU Greenfields Agreement 2018-2021, which was intended to regulate the employment conditions of workers in the specified industries. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The legal issues before the court involved the interpretation of the relevant industrial relations legislation and the fairness of the agreement in question. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the agreement complied with the relevant laws and whether it was fair and reasonable in all its terms. The court also had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the workers it was intended to cover.

In delivering its judgment, the court noted that the agreement in question contained provisions that were consistent with the relevant industrial relations legislation. The court also found that the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its terms, and that it was in the best interests of the workers it was intended to cover. The court noted that the agreement provided for fair wages and conditions, and that it provided for mechanisms for resolving disputes between the parties. The court concluded that the agreement was an appropriate means of regulating the employment conditions of workers in the specified industries. The court therefore approved the agreement as sought by 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