DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd ATF Frank Tobin Family Trust T/A Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd
(AG2016/7949)

TOBIN PLUMBING PTY LTD ATF FRANK TOBIN FAMILY TRUST AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION VICTORIAN BRANCH ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015 - 2019

Plumbing industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 6 JANUARY 2017

Application for approval of the Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd ATF Frank Tobin Family Trust and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd ATF Frank Tobin Family Trust and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd ATF Frank Tobin Family Trust T/As Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[4] 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 13 January 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the court involved an application for the approval of the Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd ATF Frank Tobin Family Trust T/A Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd, in its capacity as an employer, and the CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2019. The application was brought under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically seeking the court's endorsement of the proposed enterprise agreement, which aimed to govern the employment conditions of the employees of Tobin Plumbing. The legal issues centred on whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements and if it was fairly and properly negotiated.

The court was required to determine if the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval, including its compliance with the Fair Work Act and its provisions for minimum entitlements, procedural fairness, and genuine negotiation. The court considered whether the agreement contained all the mandated minimum terms and conditions, and if it was the product of genuine negotiation between the employer and the employees' representatives. The court also assessed the process by which the agreement was negotiated and the extent to which the employees had been involved in the negotiation process.

In reaching its decision, the court examined the documentation and evidence presented regarding the negotiation process and the contents of the agreement. The court found that the agreement contained all the required minimum terms and conditions and was the product of genuine negotiation. It was satisfied that the process adhered to the legal requirements and that the employees had been adequately involved in the negotiation process. As a result, the court approved the enterprise agreement.

The final orders of the court approved the Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd ATF Frank Tobin Family Trust T/A Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division Victorian Branch Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 2019. The agreement was deemed to comply with the Fair Work Act and was validly entered into by the parties. The court's approval enabled the agreement to be registered and enforced as a binding contract between the employer and the employees.

Tobin Plumbing Pty Ltd ATF Frank Tobin Family Trust T/A Tobin Plumbing 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