DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Nilsen (NSW) Pty Ltd
(AG2017/5922)

NILSEN (NSW) PTY LTD UNION ENGINEERING SERVICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER HARPER-GREENWELL	MELBOURNE, 24 JANUARY 2018

Application for approval of the Nilsen (NSW) Pty Ltd Union Engineering Services Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Nilsen (NSW) Pty Ltd Union Engineering Services Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Nilsen (NSW) Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 24 January 2018 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 31 January 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 December 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Nilsen (NSW) Pty Ltd, an employer, applied for approval of the Union Engineering Services Enterprise Agreement 2017 with the Fair Work Commission. The Union Engineering Services Union, representing employees, objected to the application on various grounds, including that the agreement did not meet the requirements for being a "single interest" agreement. The dispute was heard by the Fair Work Commission.

The central issue for the Commission was whether the agreement constituted a "single interest" agreement, as required by the Fair Work Act 2009. The Union Engineering Services Union contended that the agreement failed to represent a single, unified group of employees and that the agreement contained provisions that were not in the best interests of all employees. Nilsen (NSW) Pty Ltd argued that the agreement was a bona fide attempt to negotiate a single interest agreement and that the provisions were fair and reasonable.

In determining the matter, the Commission examined the content of the agreement and the process by which it was negotiated. The Commission found that the agreement did represent a single, unified group of employees and that the process of negotiation was in accordance with the requirements of the Act. The Commission also found that the provisions of the agreement were fair and reasonable, taking into account the interests of all employees. The application for approval was therefore approved.

The Fair Work Commission approved the application for the Union Engineering Services Enterprise Agreement 2017 to be registered. The agreement was deemed to be a single interest agreement, meeting the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

Nilsen (NSW) 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