DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2017/537)

ADVANCE INSULATION PTY LTD T/A ADVANCE INSULATION PTY LTD AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION LAGGING UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2015-2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 7 MARCH 2017

Application for approval of the Advance Insulation Pty Ltd t/a Advance Insulation Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Lagging Union Collective Agreement 2015-2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Advance Insulation Pty Ltd t/a Advance Insulation Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Lagging Union Collective Agreement 2015-2019 (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] 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 14 March 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2019.

COMMISSIONER

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 (the Union) applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of a collective agreement between Advance Insulation Pty Ltd t/a Advance Insulation Pty Ltd (the Employer) and the CEPU Plumbing Division Lagging Union (the Union). The Union sought to have the agreement, which covered employees in the plumbing division of the Employer, approved under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary requirements for approval under the Act, including that it did not provide for terms and conditions that were less favourable than the relevant award or safety net award.

The key legal issue for the Commission to determine was whether the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were not less favourable than the relevant award or safety net award. The Union argued that the agreement did not provide for terms that were less favourable than the relevant award. The Employer argued that the agreement included provisions that were less favourable than the award and that the Commission should not approve the agreement. The Commission considered the terms of the agreement and compared them to the relevant award provisions to determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement did not provide for terms and conditions that were less favourable than the relevant award or safety net award. The Commission noted that some of the agreement's provisions were less favourable than the award, but these were limited to specific circumstances and did not affect the overall terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for improved terms and conditions in some areas, such as leave entitlements, and that these improvements outweighed any less favourable provisions. The Commission approved the agreement under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Advance Insulation Pty Ltd t/a Advance Insulation Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Lagging Union Collective Agreement 2015-2019. The Union may now proceed to implement the agreement, subject to any further steps required under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Employer may seek to negotiate changes to the agreement or apply to the Commission for a variation of the agreement if it considers that the agreement is not being properly applied or is causing financial hardship.

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