Australia’s Contentious Industrial Relations Bill Passes, Industries Concerned While Unions Celebrate

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese holds a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 18, 2022. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

The Australian government has passed its industrial relations bill, which is intended to help workers receive better wages and work conditions.

“The Albanese Labor Government has delivered on the next step of its plan to lift wages, improve job security, and start closing the gender pay gap,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“By modernising the bargaining system, we will see more workplace agreements, delivering better productivity and flexibility for employers and better pay and conditions for workers.

“We’re bringing our workplace relations system up to date with a government that wants to get wages moving again.”

The Secure Jobs Better Pay bill passed parliament 78 to 42 votes, with the support of the Greens and independent David Pocock.

This brings multi-employer bargaining into law, or more specifically, the single-interest bargaining stream. This allows workers under different employers, who have identifiable common interests, collectively bargain as a group with their group of employers.

But it may result in unwilling employers being forced into, for example, potential industry-wide bargaining led by unions.

Small businesses that employ up to 20 employees will be exempt from multi-employer bargaining.

Businesses and Industry Disappointed

Business groups were strongly pushing back on multi-employer bargaining before the bill was successfully passed.

Peak national employment organisation, the Australian Industry Group, said employers had expressed disappointment at how the Bill was “rushed into law” without considering the hundreds of amendments.

“This government allowed only one day of Committee on Industrial Legislation meetings weeks ago before introducing a raft of new amendments on a Bill implementing the biggest changes in workplace relations arrangements for many years,” CEO Innes Willox said.

“It was a flawed process that is delivering confused and vague legislation that will lead to a costly lawyer’s picnic.”

In a letter from mining giant BHP to the prime minister prior to the passing of the bill, BHP Australian President Geraldine Slattery warned that the bill’s multi-employer bargaining will increase costs without supporting productivity and reduce the global competitiveness of Australia’s resource industry.

“This risks unsustainable wage inflation, which would hurt the mining industry, regional communities and the national economy,” the letter said, reported The Australian.

“[We] urge you to heed the calls on many in the parliament to provide more time for the most contentious elements of this bill, primarily the proposed changes to multi-employer bargaining ­arrangements, to be properly considered.”

Willox said instead of improving the enterprise bargaining system; the changes introduced “backward-looking” initiatives that were incapable of considering opportunities for improved productivity at individual workplaces.

The law was described by Willox as a “dud” legislation that did nothing to help productivity growth and made no guarantee for wage growth.

“The very justification for the laws as being a means to address the decline in the wages share of income is based on a misrepresentation of the facts,” he said. “Australian Bureau of Statistics data show that, outside of the extraordinary circumstances of the mining sector, the wages share of national income rose over the period between June 2010 and June 2022.”

Unions Say It’s a Step Forward

Willox called unions the big winners of the new legislation and said the damage it would cause would take time to appear.

Unions have — while the economy is going through a sustained period of high inflation.

But industry groups are concerned that it would only curb business confidence as they also face the challenges of inflation.

“Despite last-minute amendments in the Senate, these laws will do nothing to help businesses grow, to become more productive, and to pay higher wages,” Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Andrew McKellar said.

“These laws will only make our workplace system more litigious and more complex, sending Australian workers and businesses backwards.

He noted the chief concern was the single-interest bargaining stream, which would force employers into “expensive and arduous” negotiations that would favour unions.

“Indeed, under these changes, business owners who are roped into multi-employer bargaining can expect to dedicate more than four hours a day, for up to six months, participating in bargaining negotiations and away from their business,” McKellar said.

However, Michele O’Neil, the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, thanked the Albanese government for its “courage” to pass the legislation despite heavy pushback from businesses.

“Millions of working people will be on a more even footing in negotiations with their employers and able to take advantage of a new, modern system which is fit for purpose in our economy,” she told reporters.

“It has taken courage to stand up for workers and the Australian economy against the extremely aggressive scare campaign being run by big business.”