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[2013] FWCA 8138

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

SIEMENS LTD
(AG2013/2923)

SIEMENS LTD BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES NSW SERVICE AND CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012-2014

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 17 OCTOBER 2013

Application for approval of the SIEMENS LTD Building Technologies NSW Service and Construction Enterprise Agreement 2012-2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known asthe SIEMENS LTD Building Technologies NSW Service and Construction Enterprise Agreement 2012-2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by SIEMENS LTD (the Applicant). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) (the Union) has given notice under s.183 of the Act that they wish to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days after the issuing of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2014.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved Siemens Ltd, a company in the building technologies sector, and a number of its employees represented by a trade union. The dispute pertained to the approval of the Siemens Ltd Building Technologies NSW Service and Construction Enterprise Agreement 2012-2014, which was submitted to the Fair Work Commission for its assessment and approval. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement complied with the relevant federal industrial relations legislation.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. This included whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient system for resolving workplace disputes, and whether it complied with the "better off overall test" which required that the terms of the agreement be no less favourable to employees than the applicable awards or other industrial instruments. A further consideration was whether the agreement was made in the spirit of the Act's objectives, including the promotion of cooperative workplace relations.

In assessing the agreement, the Fair Work Commission considered the evidence presented by both parties and examined the terms of the agreement in detail. The Commission found that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient dispute resolution process and that it met the better off overall test. The Commission also concluded that the agreement was made in the spirit of the Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the Siemens Ltd Building Technologies NSW Service and Construction Enterprise Agreement 2012-2014.

The Fair Work Commission approved the agreement, effectively resolving the dispute. This decision confirmed the agreement's compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 and ensured that it would govern the employment conditions of the relevant employees for the specified period.

SIEMENS LTD

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