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

[2022] FWCA 1217

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

(AG2022/951)

The Trustee for GH Fire Unit Trust / Stardane Pty Ltd ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 6 APRIL 2022

Application for approval of the Trustee for GH Fire Unit Trust / Stardane Pty Ltd ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025

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 Trustee for GH Fire Unit Trust / Stardane Pty Ltd ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The employer has provided a written undertaking which is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that it will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement. Although the undertaking ensures only that the relevant apprentice rate of pay will not be less than the Award, the Agreement provides for various other benefits, including income protection, such that apprentices, like all other employees, will be better off overall if the Agreement applied to them than if the Award were to apply.

Subject to the undertaking 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 application was not lodged within 14 days after the Agreement was made. Pursuant to s 185(3)(b), I consider it fair in all the circumstances to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

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) and based on its declaration, I note that the Agreement covers the CEPU.

The Agreement was approved on 6 April 2022 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 13 April 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court was an application by the Trustee for the GH Fire Unit Trust to have the Stardane Pty Ltd ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025 approved. The dispute arose under the Fair Work Act 2009, where the application was made to the Fair Work Commission to approve the enterprise agreement. The applicant sought to have the agreement registered with the Commission, as it believed the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval.

The legal issues before the court were whether the enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, and whether it was made in good faith and covered the appropriate employees. The court was required to determine whether the agreement met the criteria for approval, including whether it was made without coercion, contained the prescribed terms, and met the better-off-overall test.

The court found that the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. It was made in good faith, without coercion, and contained all the prescribed terms. The court also found that the agreement met the better-off-overall test, as it provided for improved terms and conditions for the employees covered by the agreement. The court was satisfied that the agreement was fair and reasonable, and approved the application for registration.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Stardane Pty Ltd ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025, and it was registered with the Commission. The agreement will now apply to the employees covered by the agreement, and the terms and conditions set out in the agreement will govern their employment. The decision of the court is final and binding, and cannot be appealed.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established