DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

SEC-CON Pty Ltd
(AG2017/3952)

SEC-CON PTY LTD AND CEPU ELECTRICAL DIVISION QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015 - 2018

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 10 OCTOBER 2017

Application for approval of the SEC-CON Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the SEC-CON Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by SEC-CON 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] 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 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.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 10 October 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 17 October 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

SEC-CON Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the SEC-CON Pty Ltd and CEPU Electrical Division Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2018. The applicants sought to have the agreement approved under section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009 as a registered low paid award. The applicants argued that the agreement met the low paid threshold because the average hourly ordinary earnings of the employees covered by the agreement was less than the low paid threshold. The Commission was required to decide whether the agreement met the low paid threshold for approval.

The Commission held that the agreement did not meet the low paid threshold for approval. The Commission found that the low paid threshold was not met because the average hourly ordinary earnings of the employees covered by the agreement was not less than the low paid threshold. The applicants did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the average hourly ordinary earnings of the employees was less than the low paid threshold. The Commission found that the applicants had not discharged the onus of proving that the agreement met the low paid threshold.

The Commission dismissed the application for approval of the agreement. The Commission found that the applicants had not satisfied the requirements for approval under section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission ordered that the application be dismissed and that no further applications be made in relation to the agreement without first addressing the issues identified by the Commission.

SEC-CON 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