Terry's Electrical Services Pty Ltd Summary

[2014] FWCA 6198

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Terry's Electrical Services Pty Ltd
(AG2014/6930)

TERRY'S ELECTRICAL SERVICES MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 8 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Terry's Electrical Services Mechanical Electrical Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Terry's Electrical Services Mechanical Electrical Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Terry’s Electrical Services Pty 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 Fair Work Commission received correspondence dated 21 August 2014, which included further material in support of the application together with Undertakings made by and duly signed by the Director, proposed to FWC pursuant to s.190 of the Act (the Undertakings).

[4] I am prepared to accept the Undertakings. As provided by s.191 of the Act, the Undertakings are taken to be terms of the Agreement. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] 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 15 July 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Undertaking

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Terry's Electrical Services Pty Ltd, represented by its directors, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Mechanical Electrical Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was opposed by several unions and individual employees, who argued that the proposed agreement did not provide adequate protections for workers. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues for the court to decide were whether the proposed agreement was a "batable agreement" under the Fair Work Act, and if it provided adequate protections for employees in terms of wages, conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. The court had to assess whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements for approval, including whether it had been the product of genuine bargaining, and whether it provided a safety net of minimum terms and conditions.

In delivering its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was indeed a batable agreement, as it had been the product of genuine bargaining between the employer and the relevant employee representatives. The court noted that the agreement provided for a comprehensive set of terms and conditions, including provisions for wages, hours of work, leave entitlements, and dispute resolution mechanisms. While some of the unions and individual employees had raised concerns about certain aspects of the agreement, the court concluded that, overall, the agreement provided adequate protections for employees and met the statutory requirements for approval. Accordingly, the court approved the Mechanical Electrical Enterprise Agreement 2014.

The final orders of the court were that the Mechanical Electrical Enterprise Agreement 2014 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. The court also ordered that the agreement be published on the Fair Work Commission's website and that a copy be provided to each of the parties involved in the application. The court further ordered that the agreement be registered with the relevant industrial registry and that it come into effect on the date of the decision.

Terry's Electrical Services Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established