Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 8493

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd
(AG2014/8226)

PROJECT LIGHTING & ELECTRICAL PTY LTD & CEPU ELECTRICAL DIVISION QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012-2015

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE	SYDNEY, 27 NOVEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd & CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd & CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 f the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. In particular, I am satisfied that the employee organisations, the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[3] The agreement does not contain a consultation term with the content required by s.205(1) and (1A). Accordingly, in accordance with s.205(2), the model consultation term contained in Schedule 2.3 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1), it will operate from 4 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 August 2015.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd, a company in the electrical contracting industry, and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEEU). The dispute centred on the application for the approval of the Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd & CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the proposed agreement met the criteria set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009 for enterprise agreements.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement complied with the procedural requirements and substantive provisions of the Fair Work Act. This included assessing whether there had been genuine bargaining between the parties, whether the agreement covered the correct bargaining unit, and whether it included all the mandated terms and conditions. Additionally, the Commission examined whether the agreement met the 'better off overall test' (BOOT), ensuring that employees would not be worse off financially or in terms of conditions compared to their previous entitlements.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement was the product of genuine bargaining between the parties, as evidenced by the documentation and testimony presented. The agreement was deemed to cover the correct bargaining unit and contained all the mandated terms and conditions. The Commission also concluded that the agreement satisfied the BOOT, as it provided employees with improved benefits and conditions without any financial detriment. Therefore, the Fair Work Commission approved the Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd & CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2012-2015, and it became legally binding.

Project Lighting & Electrical Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established