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

[2013] FWCA 3021

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
(AG2013/6339)

I FIRE PROTECTION PTY LTD AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 15 MAY 2013

Application for approval of the I Fire Protection 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 I Fire Protection 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). It has been made by Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU). 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) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[4] The agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 22 May 2013. The nominal expiry date of the agreement is 31 October 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this case were the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (the Union) and I Fire Protection Pty Ltd. The dispute pertained to the application for the approval of the I Fire Protection Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011-2015. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an Australian workplace relations tribunal.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to decide included whether the collective agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in relation to the requirements for good faith bargaining and the protection of employees' rights. The Union argued that the agreement was the product of good faith bargaining, while I Fire Protection Pty Ltd contended that the agreement did not comply with the Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the application for the approval of the collective agreement should be dismissed. The Commission held that the agreement did not meet the requirements for good faith bargaining, as the Union had failed to provide I Fire Protection Pty Ltd with adequate information regarding the agreement. Additionally, the Commission found that the agreement did not provide adequate protection for employees' rights. The Commission dismissed the application for approval of the collective agreement.

As a result of the decision, the I Fire Protection Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011-2015 was not approved, and the Union and I Fire Protection Pty Ltd were required to continue bargaining in good faith to reach a new agreement that complied with the Fair Work Act 2009.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established