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

[2013] FWCA 2137

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
(AG2013/360)

THE TASMAN TANK COMPANY AND CEPU PLUMBING DIVISION UNION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 3 MAY 2013

The Tasman Tank Company and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011-2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as The Tasman Tank Company 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 The Tasman Tank Company 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 before the Fair Work Commission was a dispute between the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia and the Tasman Tank Company. The Union sought a declaration that certain employees of the Company were covered by the Tasman Tank Company and CEPU Plumbing Division Union Collective Agreement 2011-2015. The Company denied that the employees were covered by the agreement, arguing that they were not employees within the meaning of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was required to determine whether the employees in question were covered by the collective agreement. This involved determining the scope of the agreement and whether the employees fell within that scope. The Commission considered the terms of the agreement, the nature of the employees' work, and the control exercised by the Company over the employees. The Commission found that the employees were indeed covered by the collective agreement. It held that the employees were employees within the meaning of the Fair Work Act, and that they were subject to the control of the Company. The Commission also found that the nature of the employees' work was consistent with the terms of the agreement, and that the agreement was therefore applicable to them. The Fair Work Commission made a declaration that the employees were covered by the collective agreement. It also ordered the Company to take certain steps to give effect to the agreement, including to negotiate with the Union and to provide the employees with the benefits and protections set out in the agreement.

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