DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Modern Fire Protection Pty Ltd
(AG2020/2811)

MODERN FIRE PROTECTION PTY LTD AND CEPU ELECTRICAL DIVISION QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019-2023

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 6 OCTOBER 2020

Application for approval of the Modern Fire Protection Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023

[1] Modern Fire Protection Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Modern Fire Protection 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] The application is generally in order however I note that the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) issued to employees was not completed in the prescribed form because the content of the NERR failed to remove the inapplicable paragraphs of the template. 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, 1I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s 188(2)(a). Further, I am satisfied that the employees covered by the agreement are 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] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[5] 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 statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 1 October 2020 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 13 October 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 July 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

ANNEXURE A

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Modern Fire Protection Pty Ltd, a company in the fire protection industry, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of an enterprise agreement. The application involved the Modern Fire Protection Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly the provisions concerning the minimum entitlements, dispute resolution, and good faith bargaining.

The court had to decide if the agreement complied with the legal standards set by the Fair Work Act. This included examining whether the agreement contained all the prescribed minimum terms and conditions, and whether the parties had genuinely negotiated the agreement in good faith. Additionally, the court needed to assess if the dispute resolution provisions within the agreement were adequate and if they adhered to the legislative requirements.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement did indeed meet the necessary requirements of the Fair Work Act. It included all the minimum terms and conditions, and the evidence suggested that the parties had genuinely negotiated the agreement. The dispute resolution provisions were also deemed adequate and compliant with the law. Consequently, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement, allowing it to be registered and enforceable.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Modern Fire Protection Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2019-2023 be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act. This decision provided certainty to the parties involved and established a framework for their future employment relationship.

Modern Fire Protection 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