DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2016/3237)

TRUSTEE FOR THE NAVASKA UNIT TRUST T/A NAVASKA PTY LTD AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION MECHANICAL UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2015 - 2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 26 MAY 2016

Application for approval of the Trustee for The Navaska Unit Trust t/a Navaska Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Mechanical Union Collective Agreement 2015 - 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Trustee for The Navaska Unit Trust t/a Navaska Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Mechanical Union Collective 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 2 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

The dispute arose between the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, the CEPU Plumbing Division Mechanical Union, and the Navaska Unit Trust t/a Navaska Pty Ltd. The union sought approval of a new collective agreement between the union and the employer. The case was heard by the Fair Work Commission, an industrial relations tribunal in Australia.

The central legal issue was whether the proposed collective agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and its regulations. Specifically, the union needed to demonstrate that the agreement met the requirements for good faith bargaining and that it did not include any terms that would be unfair to the employees or the employer. The union also needed to show that it had genuinely sought to reach an agreement with the employer and that the agreement reflected the outcomes of those negotiations.

The Fair Work Commission found that the union had met its burden of proof. The commission was satisfied that the agreement was the product of genuine negotiations between the union and the employer, and that it met the requirements for good faith bargaining. The commission also found that the agreement did not contain any terms that would be unfair to either party. The commission approved the collective agreement, subject to certain modifications that addressed minor technical issues. The union and the employer were ordered to implement the agreement as modified by the commission.

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