Electrical Design & Construction Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 7841

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Electrical Design & Construction Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7905)

ELECTRICAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT - 2014/2016

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 6 NOVEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Electrical Design and Construction Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement - 2014/ 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Electrical Design and Construction Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement - 2014/2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Fair Work Commission notes and accepts the undertaking provided by the employer and it is taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertaking is attached to this decision as Annexure A

[4] The agreement does not contain a consultation term with the content required by s.205(1) and (1A). Accordingly, in accordance with s.205(2), the model consultation term contained in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the agreement.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 13 November 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 November 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Annexure A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Electrical Design & Construction Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Electrical Design and Construction Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement - 2014/ 2016. The application was made by the employer and the Electrical Workers Union of Australia, the registered trade union. The application was made pursuant to section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The union claimed the agreement covered all of its members employed by the employer and that it had been fairly negotiated. The employer claimed that the agreement was made in good faith and on a voluntary basis and that no employees had been excluded from the agreement without their consent.

The Fair Work Commission identified three matters to be decided. The first was whether the union had sufficient representativeness to make the application on behalf of the employees. The second was whether the agreement had been fairly negotiated. The third was whether the agreement was made in good faith on a voluntary basis and whether it complied with all relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The Commission found that the union was sufficiently representative of the employees. It also found that the agreement had been fairly negotiated and was made in good faith on a voluntary basis. The Commission approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the enterprise agreement. The decision is binding on all parties to the agreement. The union, the employer and all employees covered by the agreement must comply with its terms. The agreement is to remain in force until superseded by a new agreement or until terminated in accordance with its provisions. The Fair Work Commission may review the agreement at any time if it considers it appropriate to do so.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established