DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2018/1567)

CONCEPT ENGINEERING AND ETU VICTORIAN RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018-2021

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 7 JUNE 2018

Application for approval of the Concept Engineering and ETU Victorian Rail Infrastructure Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Concept Engineering and ETU Victorian Rail Infrastructure Enterprise 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] 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 have 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 7 June 2018 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 14 June 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia sought approval of the Concept Engineering and ETU Victorian Rail Infrastructure Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) was required to determine whether the agreement met the statutory criteria for approval under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The dispute arose as the applicant union sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered agreement, which would then be applicable to its members who were employed in the rail infrastructure industry in Victoria.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement complied with the requirements of section 231 of the Act. This section mandates that an agreement must be certified as a registered agreement if it meets specific criteria, including that it has been fairly and independently negotiated, contains the prescribed terms and conditions of employment, and does not have any terms that are contrary to public policy. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement contained any terms that were not in the best interests of the employees it covered.

In delivering its decision, the Commission found that the agreement satisfied the statutory criteria for approval. The Commission noted that the union had demonstrated that the agreement had been fairly and independently negotiated, and that it contained the prescribed terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also found that the agreement did not contain any terms that were contrary to public policy or that were not in the best interests of the employees. Accordingly, the Commission approved the agreement as a registered agreement, which will be applicable to the union's members in the rail infrastructure industry in Victoria.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Concept Engineering and ETU Victorian Rail Infrastructure Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021 be approved as a registered agreement, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement will now be applicable to the union's members who are employed in the rail infrastructure industry in Victoria, and will remain in force until it is superseded by a new agreement or until it is terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Work Act.

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