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

[2021] FWCA 7132

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
(AG2021/8619)

ACTON ELECTRICAL PTY. LTD. ETU ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021 - 2025

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 15 DECEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the Acton Electrical Pty. Ltd. ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 - 2025

[1] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) has made an application for approval of the Acton Electrical 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.

[2] 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.

[3] Subject to the undertaking, 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.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 15 December 2021 and will operate from 22 December 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE514298 PR736789>
Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission was an application for the approval of the Acton Electrical Pty. Ltd. ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 - 2025. The applicant, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, sought to have the agreement recognised as a lawful enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was negotiated between the union and Acton Electrical Pty. Ltd., an electrical contracting company, and it covered a range of employees within the company.

The legal issues before the commission centred on whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act. This included whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions as prescribed by the Act. Additionally, the commission needed to consider whether the agreement had been appropriately negotiated and whether there was sufficient evidence of genuine agreement between the parties.

The commission found that the agreement met all the necessary statutory requirements. The evidence presented demonstrated that the agreement had been made in good faith and contained all the prescribed minimum terms and conditions. The commission was satisfied that the agreement had been appropriately negotiated, with both parties demonstrating a willingness to reach a mutually acceptable outcome. Furthermore, the commission accepted that there was sufficient evidence of genuine agreement between the parties, as evidenced by the union's endorsement of the agreement and the company's implementation of the terms.

Consequently, the commission approved the Acton Electrical Pty. Ltd. ETU Enterprise Agreement 2021 - 2025 as a lawful enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act. The agreement was registered and will now apply to the relevant employees of Acton Electrical Pty. Ltd.

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