DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

LCE Queensland Pty Ltd
(AG2020/4047)

LCE QUEENSLAND PTY LTD AND CEPU ELECTRICAL DIVISION QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2023

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 7 JANUARY 2021

Application for approval of the LCE Queensland Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023.

[1] LCE Queensland Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the LCE Queensland Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland 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 Commission was advised that the employees were not all 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 s188(2)(a). Further, I am satisfied 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 Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 7 January 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 14 January 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 July 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

LCE Queensland Pty Ltd recently had an application before the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the LCE Queensland Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The application was brought by LCE Queensland Pty Ltd, and the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Electrical Trades Union of Australia were the respondents. The dispute centred around whether the enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the minimum requirements for coverage, and whether it contained all the prescribed terms. The Commission had to assess whether the agreement covered a sufficient proportion of employees in the relevant enterprise and whether it included all the mandatory terms as stipulated by the Fair Work Act. The respondents argued that the agreement did not adequately cover all employees and failed to include some prescribed terms, thereby rendering it non-compliant.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission determined that the agreement did indeed meet the minimum coverage requirements and contained all the prescribed terms. The Commission found that the agreement was appropriately broad in its coverage and included all necessary terms. The Commission also noted that there was sufficient support for the agreement among the employees, which was a crucial factor in its approval. Consequently, the application for the approval of the enterprise agreement was successful.

The Commission approved the LCE Queensland Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023, thereby allowing it to come into effect. This decision ensures that the terms of the agreement will govern the employment conditions for the relevant employees during the specified period.

LCE Queensland Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established