Sometimes bargaining gets bogged down and the way out gets harder to see. What many bargaining parties overlook is to use the FWC as a sounding board for their respective positions and maybe a way forward. And the FWC stands ready to serve as a recent case clearly demonstrates.
Some employers who have their own enterprise agreement (EA) make the mistake of pretty much ignoring what is going on in modern awards. They reason modern awards provide bare minimum standards whereas their EA provides superior conditions, often considerably so. This tends to encourage ambivalence about what’s going on in the modern award space.
Once again the FWC has baulked at approving agreements where it was not convinced the employers had taken all reasonable steps to explain the proposed deals to the employees.
When an employee is a member of a union that is a bargaining representative for an enterprise agreement, then that employee is able to attend negotiations under the union’s umbrella. And an employer’s attempt to exclude such an employee from discussions has been thwarted by the Fair Work Commission. The employee had filed for workers’ […]
While it may make good sense to keep bargaining committees down to a manageable size, arbitrarily limiting the number of bargaining representatives is not the way to go. This, along with a few other procedural flaws, resulted in an agreement being knocked back by the FWC recently, when it became clear the mistakes were too […]
Arguing about the meaning of a word in a Protected Action Ballot Order (PABO) as a means to head off protected industrial action has proved to be something of a folly for Australia’s largest telco. The Fair Work Commission has dismissed the attempt, saying that the wording of a PABO is not to be interpreted […]
When a major union continued to pursue demands about restrictions on the use of contractors, it effectively ceased to bargain in good faith, the Fair Work Commission has found. This meant the FWC could not grant the union members a protected action ballot. The controversial claim being pursued was centred on imposing restrictions on the […]
The Fair Work Commission has ordered an employer to produce books of account showing its financial status, in a long running bargaining dispute with several unions. Despite its protestations about the extent of the financial records and other material it has to produce, a full bench of the FWC has required the company to hand […]
Ross Clarke has more than a decade’s experience in the enterprise bargaining room.
The knowledge and skill he has acquired in this time has enabled him to develop a highly sophisticated planning and process model for successful enterprise bargaining. This proven methodology delivers results across all industries including distribution, hospitality, banking, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications and gaming.
“Ross’s knowledge of industrial relations and his ability to understand how and when to communicate internally with government; and with the media were instrumental in guiding the Association’s successful response to the campaign.”
Patrick Griffin OAM, Australian Hotels Association
Mobile: 0419 401 702
Email ross@workrelations.com.au
L3, 97 Pacific Hwy
North Sydney
Australia