Industrial Medical and Piping Systems Pty Ltd

[2019] FWCA 4242

[2019] FWCA 4242

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Industrial Medical and Piping Systems Pty Ltd
(AG2019/944)

INDUSTRIAL MEDICAL PIPING SYSTEMS PTY LTD ON SITE CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT 2019 - 2023

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER PLATT	ADELAIDE, 19 JUNE 2019

Application for approval of the Industrial Medical Piping Systems Pty Ltd On Site Construction Agreement 2019 - 2023.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Industrial Medical Piping Systems Pty Ltd On Site Construction Agreement 2019 - 2023 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Industrial Medical and Piping Systems Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 31 May 2019.

[3] On 4 June 2019, I conducted a telephone conference with the parties to seek clarification about aspects of the Agreement and invited the Applicant to address these matters including the provision of an undertaking.

[4] The Applicant provided a Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) which described the coverage of the Agreement as “employees entering into the enterprise agreement”; ordinarily this can be considered to be insufficient to comply with the requirements of s.173 of the Act. However in this case, the Agreement was a “rollover” agreement, and the accompanying communications supported that position. I am satisfied that the employees at the workplace understood who was covered by the proposed Agreement and that the breach is a minor or technical error.

[5] The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 12 June 2019. The undertaking deals with the following topics:

•  The Applicant has inserted a National Employment Standards (NES) precedence clause.

•  The definition of a shift worker will be for the purposes of the NES.

•  The Applicant undertakes not to employ persons other than daily hire workers for the life of the Agreement.

•  In clause 40.3.3 of the Agreement the dollar figure is amended to $100.00.

•  The Agreement will have a nominal life of 4 years (noting that the date in clause 4.2 of the Agreement was for a period in excess of four years).

[6] A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representatives and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representatives did not express any view on the undertaking.

[7] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[8] As the Agreement does not contain a flexibility term which meets the requirements of s.203 of the Act, the model flexibility term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[9] The “Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[10] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[11] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days from the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 19 June 2023.

COMMISSIONER

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