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

[2022] FWCA 847

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

(AG2022/594)

Electrocom Solutions Pty Ltd ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 – 2025

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 10 MARCH 2022

Application for approval of the Electrocom Solutions 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 Electrocom Solutions 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, a copy of 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 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 10 March 2022 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 17 March 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 Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (the "Union") sought approval of the Electrocom Solutions Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021-2025 (the "Agreement") from the Fair Work Commission (the "Commission"). The Union argued that the Agreement met the criteria for an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), and that it should be approved as a registered agreement.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the Agreement was an enterprise agreement as defined under the Fair Work Act and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining requirement under the Act. The Union argued that the Agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement and that it had been negotiated in good faith. The employer argued that the Agreement was not a genuine enterprise agreement and that it did not comply with the good faith bargaining requirement.

The Commission found that the Agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement and that it had been negotiated in good faith. The Commission noted that the parties had engaged in extensive negotiations and that the Agreement contained a wide range of terms and conditions that were beneficial to both parties. The Commission also found that the Agreement met the requirement for good faith bargaining under the Act, as the parties had negotiated in a manner that was fair and reasonable. The Commission approved the Agreement as a registered agreement, and it will now be in effect from 1 January 2021 until 31 December 2025.

The Commission made orders approving the Agreement as a registered agreement and directing that it be registered with the Commission. The employer and the Union are now bound by the terms and conditions of the Agreement, and any disputes arising out of or in connection with the Agreement will be resolved in accordance with its provisions.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established