DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2016/6967)

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

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 5 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Innovation Fire 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 Innovation Fire 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 the 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 12 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

In the Fair Work Commission, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia brought an application for approval of the Innovation Fire Services Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2015-2019. The respondents to the application were Innovation Fire Services Pty Ltd, represented by its director, and CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union. The nature of the dispute was whether the agreement met the necessary requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues that the commission was required to decide were whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, whether it met the good faith bargaining requirement, and whether it complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. The commission also had to consider whether the agreement contained appropriate dispute resolution procedures and whether it complied with the minimum entitlements set out in the National Employment Standards. The union argued that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement that had been negotiated in good faith and met all the necessary requirements for approval.

The commission found that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement that had been negotiated in good faith and met all the necessary requirements for approval. The commission noted that the agreement contained appropriate dispute resolution procedures and complied with the minimum entitlements set out in the National Employment Standards. The commission also found that the agreement met the good faith bargaining requirement and complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. The commission approved the agreement, and it became effective from 1 July 2015. The union and the employer were required to take all necessary steps to give effect to the agreement and to ensure that it was complied with.

The final orders of the commission were that the Innovation Fire Services Pty Ltd & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2015-2019 be approved as a registered agreement under section 173 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The union and the employer were required to take all necessary steps to give effect to the agreement and to ensure that it was complied with. The agreement was to be registered by the commission and published on its website.

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