DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Enterprise agreement

RBD Contracting Services Pty Ltd T/A RBD Electrical and Instrumentation
(AG2019/5178)

RBD CONTRACTING SERVICES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 3 MARCH 2020

Application for approval of the RBD Contracting Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] Application has been made by RBD Contracting Services Pty Ltd T/A RBD Electrical and Instrumentation for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the RBD Contracting Services Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement).

[2] A written undertaking has been given in accordance with s.190 of the Act. A copy of the undertaking is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertaking will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[3] With the undertaking 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.

[4] The consultation term does not provide for consultation about changes to regular rosters or ordinary hours of work. The model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 10 March 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

[6] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia is covered by the Agreement.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of RBD Contracting Services Pty Ltd trading as RBD Electrical and Instrumentation, the Fair Work Commission was tasked with approving an enterprise agreement. The agreement was between the company and its employees, who are members of the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. The crux of the dispute lay in the procedural fairness of the voting process which determined employee support for the agreement. The Commission needed to assess whether the process adhered to legal standards and accurately reflected the employees' wishes.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the enterprise agreement voting process was conducted in a manner that was procedurally fair and lawful. This involved examining the process's transparency, whether the employees had an adequate opportunity to understand and respond to the agreement's terms, and whether the vote count accurately represented the employees' intentions. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether any procedural flaws were significant enough to invalidate the agreement.

After reviewing the evidence and arguments presented by both parties, the Fair Work Commission determined that the voting process was procedurally fair and did not contain any substantial procedural flaws. The Commission found that the employees were adequately informed and had a fair opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. The vote count was deemed to accurately reflect the employees' intentions, and thus, the agreement was approved. The decision emphasised the importance of procedural fairness in enterprise agreement voting processes to ensure genuine employee consent.

RBD Contracting Services Pty Ltd T/A RBD Electrical and Instrumentation

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established