DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia - Plumbing Division
(AG2021/5755)

BALANCED ENVIRONMENTS AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION (VIC) PLUMBING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2023

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 2 JULY 2021

Application for approval of the Balanced Environments and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023.

[1] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia - Plumbing Division (CEPU) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Balanced Environments and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] While the application is generally in order, the employees were not provided with a copy of the notice of employee representational rights (NERR) within 14 days of notification time. However, in all the circumstances, and 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 for the purposes of s 188(2)(a), and that the employees covered by the agreement were 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 s 188(2) of the Act.

[3] 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 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[4] 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.

[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) and based on the declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 2 July 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 9 July 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia - Plumbing Division, sought approval of the Balanced Environments and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The application was brought under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was opposed by a number of employers and the Fair Work Commission. The dispute came before the Federal Court on an appeal from the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission.

The primary issue before the court was whether the agreement was in the interests of employees and employers, and therefore should be approved. The court was required to consider a number of factors, including the impact of the agreement on the bargaining power of the parties, the overall fairness of the agreement, and the extent to which the agreement promoted harmonious, productive and cooperative workplace relations. The court was also required to consider whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act.

In its decision, the court found that the agreement was in the interests of employees and employers, and should be approved. The court found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable outcome for both parties, and promoted harmonious, productive and cooperative workplace relations. The court also found that the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The court noted that the agreement provided for a number of benefits for employees, including improved wages and conditions, and that these benefits were balanced by corresponding benefits for employers. The court also found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for the resolution of workplace disputes.

The court allowed the appeal, set aside the decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission, and approved the Balanced Environments and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The agreement will now be registered by the Commission, and will be in force from 1 July 2019 until 30 June 2023.

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

DECISION

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