DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2016/6668)

4 BUILD PROJECT ENGINEERING PTY LTD AND CEPU – PLUMBING DIVISION VICTORIAN BRANCH ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015 - 2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 21 NOVEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the 4 Build Project Engineering Pty Ltd 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
4 Build Project Engineering Pty Ltd 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

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, sought approval of the 4 Build Project Engineering Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015-2019. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute arose from negotiations between the applicant union and the employer regarding the terms and conditions of employment for the employees of the employer covered by the agreement. The union sought to have the agreement approved as a registered agreement, which would provide it with certain bargaining rights and protections.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the criteria for approval under section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This involved determining whether the agreement contained the mandatory terms prescribed by the Act, did not include any prohibited terms, and was in the best interests of the employees it covered. The court was also required to consider whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether the union had acted fairly in the negotiation process.

In its decision, the court found that the proposed enterprise agreement met the criteria for approval. The agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act and did not include any prohibited terms. The court was satisfied that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it covered and had been made in good faith. The union had acted fairly in the negotiation process, and the agreement reflected the outcomes of genuine bargaining between the parties. The court approved the agreement as a registered agreement, which would provide the union with certain bargaining rights and protections and would apply to the employees covered by the agreement for the period specified in the agreement.

The final orders of the court were that the 4 Build Project Engineering Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015-2019 be approved as a registered agreement under section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement would apply to the employees of the employer covered by the agreement for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2019, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The union would have certain bargaining rights and protections under the Act, and the agreement would be binding on the parties and the employees it covered.

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