Industry group’s concern over multi-employer bargaining

AI Group chief executive Innes Willox said the announcement by Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke that the government would legislate to enable multi-employer bargaining has the potential for the opening of a new front for disruptive and costly industrial action, potentially across a sector or broad parts of the economy.

“There is no detail around either the ACTU’s proposals or the Government’s thinking on how multi-employer bargaining would operate in practice,” he said.

“Unknowns include what size businesses would be opened up to the ACTU’s proposal, what sectors of the economy would be covered, how those sectors would be defined and how businesses would be protected if they declined to participate.

“A clear red line for industry is the potential for unions to engage in industrial action in pursuit of multi-party bargaining claims. This has the potential to shut down key parts of our economy in the pursuit of claims. Such a possibility has deeply alarmed industry and must be ruled out.”

Mr Willox said if the government moves in this direction there needs to be complete transparency around how such a system would work in conjunction with single enterprise bargaining.

“Enterprise-based bargaining should remain the cornerstone of our workplace relations system to raise productivity, wages and the competitiveness of industry,” he said.

“Minister Burke’s intention to remove unnecessary complexity in the bargaining system and improve the ‘Better Off Overall Test’ is most welcome. However, there is a need to carefully consider the detail of how this is achieved. With sensible and balanced reforms, rather than radical changes, the system could readily be revitalised.”

Meanwhile, the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has published the full text of its memorandum of understanding with the ACTU and responded to unfounded criticism about the agreement.

COSBOA CEO Alexi Boyd said the facts of the agreement were that the MOU is based on shared values and goals, the two organisations acknowledge that there will be differences of opinion in certain policy areas, and that the two organisations want fairness, equity and prosperity, and agree that every person, whether they be workers, contractors or small-business owners, is entitled to safe, healthy and fairly remunerated work.

The two organisations agree that the needs of small-business people differ from the needs of big business, and that both small-business people and workers face similar challenges as a result of economic activity being dominated by large corporations.

The two organisations have agreed to support a bargaining system that enables small businesses and their associations to make agreements to suit the needs of their sector, either as individual businesses or as groups of businesses.

The statement from COSBOA said the organisation does not endeavour to unionise small businesses, advocate compulsory sector-wide bargaining, or want to remove the autonomy of small-business owners to choose whether or not to participate in bargaining.

“It’s disappointing to see other business organisations fear mongering and making unfounded assumptions,” said Ms Boyd.

“The notion that COSBOA has somehow been duped by the unions is condescending and it is false. We have no proposal, nor will we accept that it is appropriate, to unionise small businesses.

“What we’ve done with the ACTU is find common goals and values such as fairness and prosperity. The IR system, including bargaining, is designed for big businesses. It’s inaccessible and intimidating to small businesses, who employ about half of this country’s workforce. And that’s not fair – hence why both organisations would like to see a simpler, more easily navigable system that can meet the needs of smaller workplaces.

“Change is difficult in the IR system. It’s incremental, and it won’t happen if we don’t cooperate with all sides.”