DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2016/6112)

GPJ COMMISSIONING SOLUTIONS PTY LTD AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION VICTORIAN BRANCH ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015-2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 6 OCTOBER 2016

Application for approval of the GPJ Commissioning Solutions 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 GPJ Commissioning Solutions 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 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 13 October 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2019.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties in this case were the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and GPJ Commissioning Solutions Pty Ltd. The dispute was centred around the approval of the Enterprise Agreement between the union and the company for the period 2015 to 2019. The matter was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

The primary legal issue that the FWC had to address was whether the terms and conditions of the Enterprise Agreement complied with the requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the FWC needed to determine if the agreement met the “better off overall test” which requires that the employees are at least as well off under the new agreement as they would be under their previous conditions of employment. Another aspect of the case involved assessing whether the agreement was made in good faith and if it contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Act.

In delivering its decision, the FWC examined the provisions of the agreement and the evidence provided by both parties. The FWC concluded that the agreement did indeed satisfy the better off overall test. It found that the new terms and conditions provided employees with improved pay and conditions, thereby meeting the statutory requirement. The FWC also found that the agreement was made in good faith and contained all the mandatory terms as prescribed by the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the FWC approved the Enterprise Agreement.

The final orders of the FWC were that the Enterprise Agreement between GPJ Commissioning Solutions Pty Ltd and the CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch for the period 2015 to 2019 be approved, effective from the date of the decision.

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