Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia

[2014] FWCA 7169

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

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
(AG2014/9152)

AUSTRALIAN PIPE SOLUTIONS PTY LTD AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 10 OCTOBER 2014

Application for approval of the Australian Pipe Solutions Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011 - 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Australian Pipe Solutions Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011 - 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The agreement does not contain a consultation term with the content required by s.205(1) and (1A). Accordingly, in accordance with s.205(2), the model consultation term contained in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the agreement.

[4] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 17 October 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2015.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties to this application were the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and Australian Pipe Solutions Pty Ltd. The dispute arose over the union's application for approval of the Australian Pipe Solutions Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011-2015, which the Fair Work Commission was required to decide. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, which was established under the Fair Work Act 2009 to provide independent resolution of workplace disputes and to promote cooperative workplace relations.

The legal issues that the Fair Work Commission was required to decide included whether the terms of the proposed agreement were consistent with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, including the requirement for good faith bargaining, and whether the agreement provided for the fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement. The Commission was also required to consider whether the agreement complied with any relevant modern awards and whether it provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests.

In making its decision, the Fair Work Commission considered the evidence and submissions provided by the parties and conducted a thorough analysis of the terms of the proposed agreement. The Commission found that the agreement was consistent with the provisions of the Fair Work Act and provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement. The Commission also found that the agreement complied with any relevant modern awards and provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Australian Pipe Solutions Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011-2015, subject to certain conditions and modifications. These included modifications to the agreement's provisions relating to shift patterns, overtime, and penalty rates, to ensure that they were consistent with the relevant modern awards and provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement. The Commission also made orders to ensure that the agreement was properly communicated to the employees and that any disputes arising under the agreement were resolved through the agreed dispute resolution processes.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established