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

[2023] FWCA 1693

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

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

(AG2023/1659)

YOUR FIRE PROTECTION & CEPU NSW/NFIA SPRINKLER FITTING FIRE PROTECTION UNION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT NSW & ACT 2020-2024

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 9 JUNE 2023

Application for approval of the Your Fire Protection & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Your Fire Protection & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

While the application is generally in order, the notice of employee representational rights (NERR) provided to employees was not in the prescribed form. However, having regard to the decision of the Full Bench in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others,[1] I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error and that the employees covered by the Agreement are not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of the Act.

The employer has provided written undertakings, a copy of which is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that they will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

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. As required by 201(2), I note that the Agreement covers the CEPU.

The Agreement was approved on 9 June 2023 and, in accordance with s 54, it will operate from 16 June 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 29 February 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Annexure A

[1] [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia lodged an application seeking approval of the Your Fire Protection & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, and the dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment of employees in the fire protection industry within New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement were fair and reasonable, in line with the statutory criteria set out in the Fair Work Act. This included assessing whether the agreement met the "better off overall test", which required the Commission to consider whether the agreement would provide employees with a minimum rate of pay and conditions that were at least as good as those provided for under the relevant award or safety net.

The Commission concluded that the proposed enterprise agreement was fair and reasonable. It found that the agreement provided employees with a total financial package that was at least equal to the safety net, and in some cases, better. The Commission also considered the overall fairness of the agreement, including the balance of advantages and disadvantages for both employers and employees, and was satisfied that the agreement met the statutory criteria. Consequently, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement, and it will now be registered and enforceable under the Fair Work Act.

As a result of the Commission's decision, the Your Fire Protection & CEPU NSW/NFIA Sprinkler Fitting Fire Protection Union Enterprise Agreement NSW & ACT 2020-2024 was registered and came into effect. The agreement will govern the employment conditions of employees in the fire protection industry within New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory for the duration of the agreement, which is until 30 June 2024, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of the agreement or the Fair Work Act.

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