DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2016/1392)

CROFT CONTRACTING AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION VICTORIAN BRANCH ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015 - 2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 9 JUNE 2016

Application for approval of the Croft Contracting 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 Croft Contracting 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 16 June 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

In the matter of the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, the court was presented with an application to approve the Croft Contracting and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2019. The application arose following a negotiation process between the union and the employer, which resulted in the proposed agreement. The union sought the court's approval to ensure the agreement would be legally binding and enforceable, with the employer opposing the application on certain grounds.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Act, including the requirement that the agreement must provide for the fair and efficient resolution of workplace issues and ensure that employees' terms and conditions of employment are not less favourable than those provided for in the relevant modern award. Additionally, the court had to assess whether the agreement provided adequate protections for employees and complied with the good faith bargaining obligations.

In delivering the judgment, the court found that the proposed enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements for approval. The court held that the agreement provided for the fair and efficient resolution of workplace issues and ensured that employees' terms and conditions of employment were not less favourable than those provided in the relevant modern award. Furthermore, the court found that the agreement provided adequate protections for employees and complied with the good faith bargaining obligations. Consequently, the court approved the Croft Contracting and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2019, making it a legally binding and enforceable document between the union and the employer.

The court ordered that the Croft Contracting and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2019 be approved and registered with the Fair Work Commission. The agreement would then be binding on all employees covered by the agreement and would operate from the date of registration. The court also ordered that the union and the employer were to comply with their respective obligations under the agreement and the Fair Work Act 2009.

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