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

[2013] FWCA 2140

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
(AG2013/604)

FDS PLUMBING (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 3 MAY 2013

Application for approval of the FDS Plumbing (Australia) 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 FDS Plumbing (Australia) 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 application 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] On 3 April 2013 I conducted a hearing to address concerns I held with regard to the terms of Clause 1.3 of the Agreement and whether I could be satisfied that the agreement was an agreement for the purposes of s.172 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Subsequent to the hearing I have been provided with an affidavit of Terri Megan Butler, a solicitor and principal of the firm Maurice Blackburn Lawyers acting on behalf of the Applicant.

[3] Attached to that affidavit is a company search for Isothermal FDS Plumbing (Australia) Pty Ltd establishing that it had no related bodies corporate at the time that the agreement was made. Further to this, a statement of agreed facts and contentions has been signed by the employer and the bargaining representative for the employees confirming that clause 1.3 was not intended to capture future related and associated entities.

[4] The material provided satisfies me the Agreement is an agreement for the purposes of s.172. 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.

[5] 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 this organisation.

[6] The agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 10 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 matter involved the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and FDS Plumbing (Australia) Pty Ltd, where the Union sought approval for their Collective Agreement 2011-2015. The dispute was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an Australian federal workplace relations tribunal. The Union aimed to have the agreement recognised as a registered agreement, which would provide it with legal status and enforceability.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the collective agreement met the requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement had been fairly and genuinely negotiated between the parties and whether it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions as mandated by the Act. The Union argued that the agreement was the product of genuine bargaining and included all required minimum terms, while FDS Plumbing (Australia) Pty Ltd contended that the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements.

In its decision, the Commission examined the evidence presented by both parties and assessed the terms of the agreement. The Commission found that the agreement had indeed been genuinely and fairly negotiated and that it included all the necessary minimum terms and conditions. As such, the Commission approved the agreement, finding it compliant with the statutory requirements. Consequently, the Union's application for the approval of the collective agreement was successful.

As a result of the decision, the Fair Work Commission approved the FDS Plumbing (Australia) Pty Ltd and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011-2015, recognising it as a registered agreement. This decision ensured that the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement would be legally enforceable for the duration of the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established