DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2016/6546)

TANK INDUSTRIES AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION VICTORIAN BRANCH ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015-2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 21 NOVEMEBER 2016

Application for approval of the Tank Industries and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015-2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Tank Industries and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise 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 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 28 November 2016. 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 parties involved in the case were the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, referred to as the Union, and Tank Industries. The dispute centred on the approval of the Tank Industries and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015-2019. The matter was brought before the Fair Work Commission, an Australian labour relations tribunal.

The legal issues the court had to resolve were whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions that were not less favourable than those provided for in the relevant award or safety net award, and whether it had been properly certified as a simple, low-risk agreement. Additionally, the court needed to consider if there was proper consultation and negotiation between the parties, as required by the Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement met all the necessary statutory requirements. It was certified as a simple, low-risk agreement, and the Commission was satisfied that there had been proper consultation and negotiation between the parties. The agreement provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions that were not less favourable than those provided for in the relevant award or safety net award. Consequently, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement, allowing it to be formally registered and enforceable.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission were that the Tank Industries and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015-2019 be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision allows the agreement to be implemented and enforced as a binding contract between the Union and Tank Industries.

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

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Legal Principle Established