DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

MP & HE Services Pty Ltd
(AG2015/7433)

M.P & H.E SERVICES PTY LTD COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2015-2017

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 14 DECEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the M.P & H.E Services Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2015-2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the M.P & H.E Services Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2015-217 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by MP & HE Services Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 14 December 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 21 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 July 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission was an application for the approval of the MP & HE Services Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2015-2017. The application was brought by the employer, MP & HE Services Pty Ltd, with the union representing the employees, the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, supporting the application. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment under the proposed agreement, which needed to be assessed for compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement met the requirements for a Modern Award, whether it provided for minimum entitlements as per the Fair Work Act, and whether it adhered to the principles of good faith bargaining and procedural fairness. The Commission had to consider if the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its terms and whether it appropriately balanced the interests of both the employer and the employees.

The Commission found that the agreement was fair and reasonable, meeting the criteria for a Modern Award. The proposed terms were assessed against the minimum entitlements specified in the relevant awards and regulations, and it was determined that the agreement did not fall below these standards. Furthermore, the process of bargaining was deemed to be conducted in good faith, with procedural fairness observed throughout. Consequently, the Commission approved the application and certified the collective agreement as meeting the statutory requirements.

The Fair Work Commission certified the MP & HE Services Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2015-2017 as meeting the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The agreement was deemed to provide for minimum entitlements and was approved as a Modern Award, effective from the date of certification.

MP & HE Services Pty Ltd

DECISION

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Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established