Fair Work Act and Multi-Employment Bargaining as Jobs and Skills Summit Priorities

A general view of the sustainable wage growth and the future of bargaining panel during the jobs and skills summit at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Sep. 1, 2022. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

Parties participating in the Australian jobs and skills summit have identified removing “unnecessary limitations” to single and multi-employer agreements as a priority to be addressed, along with improving the Fair Work Act.

Speaking at the summit on Sep. 1, Employment Minister Tony Burke said there were a number of issues with the Fair Work Act that needed to be dealt with immediately, including providing better access to flexible work arrangements and unpaid parental leave.

The minister also wanted to change the “better off overall” test–a test used by the Fair Work Commission to assess whether an employee is better off under an employment contract–and make it “simple, flexible and fair.”

In addition, the federal government sought to establish a forum where unions, businesses, and the government could come together to solve issues related to the construction industry, including mental health and safety concerns.

Different Views On Multi-Employer Bargaining

At the summit, both unions and business groups agreed that the industrial relations system was failing workers and businesses and thus should be reformed. However, they had different views on the issue of multi-employer bargaining.

Multi-employer bargaining occurs when two or more employers agree to bargain together with workers on an employment contract.

However, this practice is generally not legal under current Australian laws and is only permitted in very limited circumstances.

Employees covered by multi-employer agreements could go on strike at the same time to ask for better working conditions, which stokes fears of increasing levels of industrial action among industries.

Employment and Workplace Minister Tony Burke speaks during the jobs and skills summit at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Sep. 1, 2022. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) head Sally McManus said Australia needed new modern options alongside enterprise bargaining to improve employee wages, including multi-employer or sector-wide bargaining.

However, Business Council of Australia president Tim Reed said his organisation preferred to focus on fixing bargaining at the enterprise level.

“If we really want to sustainably get real wages growing, we need to consistently get productivity improvements,” he said.

Reed called for an improved industrial relations system that boosted innovation and productivity and said this approach mainly happened at the enterprise level.

Meanwhile, Council of Small Business Organisations Australia chief executive Alexi Boyd said she did not support any measures that “force, mandate or remove the autonomy of small businesses” and was “not interested in sector-wide compulsory” deals.

Multi-Employer Bargaining Stokes Concerns Over Industrial Action

Regarding the ACTU’s call for more multi-employer or sector-based bargaining, Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said there was no need for “radical or risky” reform.

“There is real concern that such a proposal will risk exposing our community to crippling industrial action across crucial sectors of our economy, and nobody wants that,” he said.

On the government side, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said legislating multi-employer bargaining would not cause small businesses to be unionised nor lead to higher degrees of strikes and economic shutdowns.

“I don’t agree with that conclusion,” he told ABC after the first day of the summit.

“It’s equally untrue to say the whole business community is not in favour of multi-employer bargaining.

“There’s not unanimity about the way forward here. Our objective is to try and find sufficient common ground on ways to make the enterprise bargaining system work better for workers and employers.”