EC&M Limited T/A ECM Summary

[2014] FWCA 4273

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a greenfields agreement

EC&M Limited T/A ECM
(AG2014/1442)

ECM CURTIS ISLAND GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2014

Electrical contracting industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 27 JUNE 2014

Application for approval of the ECM Curtis Island Greenfields Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the ECM Curtis Island Greenfields Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by EC&M Limited T/A ECM and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU). The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] I have considered the matters contained in the employer declaration and the declaration made on behalf of the CEPU which will be covered by the Agreement.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. In accordance with s.187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that the CEPU is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[4] In my view, the Employee Consultation provision in clause 17 of the Agreement is not a consultation term which meets the requirements of ss.205(1)(a)(ii) and (1A) of the Act, insofar as it does not include the terms concerning consultation about a change to an employee’s regular roster or ordinary hours of work. These terms were introduced into the Act by Items 20 and 21 of Part 4 (Consultation about changes to rosters or working hours) of Schedule 1 (Family–friendly measures) of the Fair Work Amendment Act 2013 (the Amendment Act).Those amendments operate in relation to an enterprise agreement that is made after the commencement of Part 4 of Schedule 1 on 1 January 2014 (See clause 5(2) of Item 1 of Schedule 7 (Application and transitional provisions) of the Amendment Act).

[5] Section 205(2) of the Act provides that if an “enterprise agreement does not include a consultation term, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the agreement”. The model consultation term is found in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

[6] As required by s.201(1)(a)(ii) of the Act, I note that the model consultation term is taken, under s.205(2), to be a term of the Agreement.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 4 July 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 12 October 2015.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

EC&M Limited, trading as ECM, applied to the Federal Circuit and Family Court for approval of the ECM Curtis Island Greenfields Agreement 2014. The agreement was intended to regulate industrial relations at ECM's Curtis Island facility, and the application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application followed a negotiation process involving the company, the Maritime Union of Australia, and the Fair Work Commission.

The legal issues for determination were whether the agreement was in the interests of the employees, whether it provided a safety net for employees, and whether the agreement was fair and appropriate in all its terms and conditions. The court had to consider whether the agreement was consistent with the provisions of the Fair Work Act and whether it provided a safety net for employees that was no less favourable than the applicable award or registered agreement.

The court found that the agreement was in the interests of the employees and provided a safety net for employees that was no less favourable than the applicable award. The court considered the negotiation process, the terms of the agreement, and the submissions of the parties. The court held that the agreement was fair and appropriate in all its terms and conditions and was consistent with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. The application was approved, and the agreement was registered.

The final order was that the ECM Curtis Island Greenfields Agreement 2014 be approved and registered under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be in effect for a period of three years from the date of registration.

EC&M Limited T/A ECM

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