DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2016/7183)

PROTECTACON SERVICES PTY LTD & CEPU NSW/NFIA SPRINKLER FITTING FIRE PROTECTION UNION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT NSW & ACT 2015 - 2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 8 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Protectacon Services Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2015 - 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Protectacon Services Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 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 15 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter under consideration involved the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, and the dispute centred around the application for the approval of the Protectacon Services Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2015 - 2019. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an Australian workplace relations tribunal.

The primary legal issue that the Court had to resolve was whether the application for approval of the enterprise agreement complied with the necessary provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Court needed to determine if the agreement met the criteria for fair and reasonable terms, including whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms of employment, including rates of pay, classification and conditions of employment, and if it adequately safeguarded the rights of employees.

The Court carefully examined the provisions of the enterprise agreement and found that it did indeed meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Court noted that the agreement contained provisions that were fair and reasonable in all respects, and that it provided for the proper classification of employees and fair rates of pay, amongst other things. As a result, the Court approved the application for the agreement to be registered, thereby resolving the dispute in favour 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