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

[2014] FWCA 254

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
(AG2013/12064)

TECHNICAL PLUMBING SOLUTIONS PTY LTD - MEDICAL AND LABORATORY GAS PLUMBING - UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2011 - 2015

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 9 JANUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Technical Plumbing Solutions Pty Ltd - Medical and Laboratory Gas Plumbing - Union Collective Agreement 2011 - 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Technical Plumbing Solutions Pty Ltd - Medical and Laboratory Gas Plumbing - 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 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. As required by s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 16 January 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is31 October 2015.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (the Union) applied to the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) for approval of a collective agreement between the Union and Technical Plumbing Solutions Pty Ltd (the Employer) for the period 2011 to 2015. The agreement was to cover employees of the Employer who were members of the Union and who worked in the medical and laboratory gas plumbing industry. The Union sought to have the agreement registered with the Commission under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The Employer opposed the application, arguing that the agreement did not comply with the requirements of the Act.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) for it to be approved and registered. The Commission considered whether the agreement met the requirements for the content of the agreement, the process by which it was made, and the extent to which it complied with the provisions of the Act. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it was intended to cover.

The Commission found that the agreement did not comply with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) for it to be approved and registered. The Commission found that the agreement did not contain certain mandatory provisions required by the Act, such as provisions relating to termination of employment, and that it did not provide for a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. The Commission also found that the agreement did not comply with the requirements for the process by which it was made, as it had not been made by bargaining in good faith between the parties. The Commission concluded that the agreement was not in the best interests of the employees it was intended to cover, as it did not provide adequate protections for those employees.

The Commission refused to approve and register the agreement. The Union was ordered to pay the Employer's costs of the application.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established