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

[2014] FWCA 1729

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2014/3823)

ELITE LIFT SERVICES PTY. LTD. VICTORIA / ETU / CONSTRUCTION & SERVICE EMPLOYEES 2010-2014 ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOOLEY	MELBOURNE, 14 MARCH 2014

Application for approval of the ELITE LIFT SERVICES PTY. LTD. VICTORIA / ETU / Construction & Service Employees 2010-2014 Enterprise Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the ELITE LIFT SERVICES PTY. LTD. VICTORIA / ETU / Construction & Service Employees 2010-2014 Enterprise Agreement (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 was approved on 14 March 2014 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 21 March 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 August 2014.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEEAIUPA) for approval of the ELITE LIFT SERVICES PTY. LTD. VICTORIA / ETU / Construction & Service Employees 2010-2014 Enterprise Agreement. The application was made under section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking registration of the agreement to make it a registered agreement for the purposes of the Act. The agreement was negotiated between the union and Elite Lift Services Pty Ltd, covering employees within the construction and service sectors.

The primary legal issues the Commission needed to address were whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for registration under the Fair Work Act, including whether it contained the prescribed terms, and whether it was made in good faith and without the influence of any improper conduct. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement was in the interests of the employees it covered. This involved scrutinising the provisions of the agreement, particularly those related to pay rates, working conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

In deliberating on these issues, the Commission examined the evidence presented by both parties and considered relevant legal principles and precedents. The Commission determined that the agreement satisfied the statutory requirements for registration. It found that the agreement contained all the prescribed terms, was made in good faith, and was in the interests of the employees. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees and did not contain any provisions that were contrary to public policy or the spirit of the Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement and ordered its registration.

The final orders of the Commission were that the ELITE LIFT SERVICES PTY. LTD. VICTORIA / ETU / Construction & Service Employees 2010-2014 Enterprise Agreement be approved and registered under section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be effective from the date of the Commission's decision and would govern the employment conditions of the employees covered by it until such time as it was replaced by a new agreement or terminated in accordance with the Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established