COLLECTIVE LABOR AGREEMENTS – AUSTRALIA

Enterprise deals unworkable, bosses warn

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Sep-17

Australian Industry Group CEO lnnes Willox has called for changes to the way the "better-off-overall test" is applied in approving enterprise bargaining agreements. He argues that applying the test equally to all workers at a company has become unworkable in the wake of the Fair Work Commission’s decision to strike down an EBA at Coles in 2016. Willox favours a recommendation of the Productivity Commission that the test be applied to different classes of employees.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Union deals hit workers’ pay slips

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Sofia Gronbech Wright
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Sep-17

Analysis by the Department of Employment suggests that workers in the retail and fast-food sectors would need to work for up to 50 hours during the week to offset the impact of lower Sunday penalty rates in union-backed enterprise agreements. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says the analysis refutes claims by unions and the Australian Labor Party that workers are compensated for lower weekend penalty rates via higher hourly pay rates during the week. However, the Australian Industry Group has questioned the validity of the analysis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, DAVID JONES LIMITED, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

Delay likely for small business waiting on penalty rate trade-off

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-Sep-17

A proposal to allow smaller retailers and fast-food restaurants to scrap penalty rates and overtime pay in return for a 25 per cent increase in base pay has the support of Council of Small Business Australia CEO Peter Strong. However, the Fair Work Commission is not expected to consider permitting a trial of "loaded rates" before the second half of 2018. Strong says unions and employers’ groups that represent large companies are likely to object to the proposal, as many such companies have already traded off Sunday penalty rates in their enterprise agreements.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AEROCARE OPERATIONS PTY LTD, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION

Union deals cut Sunday pay rates

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Aug-17

The Shop Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association and United Voice have struck enterprise bargaining agreements with major employers that either abolish Sunday penalty rates or feature rates that are lower than the industry award. The EBAs cover some 410.000 employees of companies such as Bunnings, McDonald’s, KFC, David Jones and Big W. The EBAs of several large hotel chains also do not include Sunday penalty rates. However, all of the EBAs that were analysed by the Department of Employment trade off penalty rates in return for higher base hourly wage rates.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, UNITED VOICE, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC, DAVID JONES LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, DAN MURPHY’S, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS, PROUDS JEWELLERS PTY LTD, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, PRICELINE PTY LTD, INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP, SHERATON MIRAGE GOLD COAST HOTEL, LANGHAM HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, PARK ROYAL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, GRILL’D PTY LTD, ESTEE LAUDER PTY LTD, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, RACV CLUBS AND RESORTS, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Labor to re-arm unions in inequality fightback

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-Aug-17

The Opposition’s industrial relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor has flagged a greater role for unions in enterprise agreement negotiations if the Australian Labor Party wins the next federal election. He has used a Sydney Institute speech to argue that employers now have too much bargaining power in wage negotiations, and noted that there has been a marked shift toward industrial award at the expense of collective agreements since 2008. He also questioned the effectiveness of the Fair Work Act and whether the Fair Work Commission’s powers are sufficient.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, SYDNEY INSTITUTE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Union bid to penalise builders for IR deals

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 19-Jul-17

The Electrical Trades Union is seeking a trade-off with employers to ensure that their enterprise bargaining agreements comply with the Australian Government’s building code. Amongst other things, the ETU wants workers to receive double-time pay rates for working on a scheduled rostered day off and to receive a day in lieu. Existing EBAs provide for a day in lieu and standard pay rates for working on RDOs. EBAs will have to comply with the building code from September for companies to be eligible for federally-funded construction projects.

CORPORATES
ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, JOHN HOLLAND PTY LTD

Enterprise bargaining looks irrelevant

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Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 12-Jul-17

There is a growing shift away from enterprise bargaining in Australia, as the system has generally failed to meet expectations in the last two decades or so. The industrial awards system still dominates many workplaces, and even large companies such as Coles intend to base new enterprise agreements on the minimum award conditions. Meanwhile, unions often use enterprise agreements to secure additional concessions for their members rather than to increase workplace productivity and flexibility.

CORPORATES
COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MURDOCH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Penalty rates plan for small business

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Jul-17

A report from the Institute of Public Affairs argues that the reduction in Sunday penalty rates will make small businesses more competitive against larger rivals. The report proposes changes to the industrial relations system to allow employers and workers to negotiate their own penalty rates independently of the Fair Work Commission. The IPA also suggests that new businesses could adapt existing enterprise bargaining agreements rather than having to negotiate their own workplace deals.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Fall in collective agreements blamed on union coverage

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 1-Jun-17

Research shows that just 36.4 per cent of Australian employees were covered by collective agreements in 2016, down from 43.4 per cent in 2010. The authors note that the proportion of workers covered by union agreements has declined since 2014, while coverage by non-union agreements has steadied after falling between 2010 and 2014. ACTU president Ged Kearney claims that on average, full-time workers who are covered by union agreements are paid an additional $A410 per week.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

ABCC could lead to rise in wages

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 18-Nov-16

Alice DeBoos, a partner at law firm K&L Gates, warns that wages in the construction sector could increase due to the Federal Government’s proposed building code. She says enterprise bargaining agreements that have been made since April 2014 will need to be renegotiated in order to comply with the code, and unions will seek a trade-off in return for scrapping non-compliant clauses. Senator Nick Xenophon and the Australian Industry Group have also expressed concern about the retrospective nature of the code.

CORPORATES
K&L GATES LLP, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA