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

[2013] FWCA 6222

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
(AG2013/8653)

ONLINE FIRE & SECURITY; ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013 - 2017

Electrical contracting industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT O'CALLAGHAN	ADELAIDE, 29 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the Online Fire & Security Enterprise Agreement 2013 - 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Online Fire & Security Enterprise Agreement 2013 - 2017 (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 (CEPU) and Online Fire & Security Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was not lodged within 14 days after it was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b) of the Act I consider it fair to extend the time for making this application to the actual date of lodgement.

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

[4] The 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. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act 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 6 September 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer,

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission concerned an application for the approval of the Online Fire & Security Enterprise Agreement 2013 - 2017. The applicant was the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia. The application was made under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking the agreement's registration as a single-enterprise agreement, effective from 1 July 2013.

The legal issues before the Commission centred on whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. This included whether the agreement contained the prescribed terms, whether it was free from any unlawful content, and whether it had been made in accordance with the procedural requirements set out in the Act. Additionally, the Commission considered whether the agreement provided for the proper representation of the interests of the employees it covered.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement contained all the prescribed terms and was free from any unlawful content. The Commission also found that the agreement had been made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Act. The evidence presented showed that the agreement had been the subject of good faith negotiations between the union and the employers, and that it provided for the proper representation of the employees' interests. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding it to meet the necessary criteria for registration as a single-enterprise agreement.

As a result of the approval, the Online Fire & Security Enterprise Agreement 2013 - 2017 became a legally binding agreement, applicable to the relevant employees and employers. The decision of the Fair Work Commission was final and binding, and could not be appealed except on limited grounds.

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

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established