DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2016/3378)

GORDON CLEMENTS NOMINEES PTY LTD T/A CALTY CONSTRUCTIONS AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION ROOFING UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2016 - 2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 9 JUNE 2016

Application for approval of the Gordon Clements Nominees Pty Ltd t/a Calty Constructions and CEPU Plumbing Division Roofing Union Collective Agreement 2016 - 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Gordon Clements Nominees Pty Ltd t/a Calty Constructions and CEPU Plumbing Division Roofing Union Collective Agreement 2016 - 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] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] 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.

[5] 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

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (the Union) sought approval for a collective agreement between the Gordon Clements Nominees Pty Ltd trading as Calty Constructions (the Employer) and the CEPU Plumbing Division Roofing Union (the Employee). The Union argued that the agreement should be approved as a safety net agreement, considering the employees' current conditions were worse than those outlined in the agreement. The Employer contested this, asserting that the agreement did not meet the criteria for a safety net agreement and that it contained provisions that were not in the employees' best interests.

The central legal issues before the Commission involved whether the collective agreement constituted a safety net agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission had to determine if the agreement's conditions were genuinely better than those currently experienced by the employees and whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees. Additionally, the Commission examined whether any provisions in the agreement were contrary to public policy or unjust.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement did not constitute a safety net agreement as the employees' existing conditions were not demonstrably worse than those set out in the agreement. Furthermore, the Commission determined that certain provisions in the agreement were not in the best interests of the employees. The Commission concluded that the agreement did not meet the statutory criteria for approval and accordingly rejected the Union's application for approval. The Commission's decision was based on the employees' current conditions and the specific provisions of the agreement, which did not align with the requirements under the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the application for approval of the collective agreement be dismissed. The Commission did not approve the agreement, and it remained inoperative. The employees would continue under their existing conditions, as the agreement did not satisfy the necessary conditions for approval as a safety net agreement or align with the best interests of the employees.

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