Fair Work makes ruling on pay deal for up to 1800 Charles Darwin University employees
Fair Work Australia has rejected a new pay deal for up to 1800 Charles Darwin University employees. We reveal why the offer won’t go ahead.
Education
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Fair Work Australia has rejected Charles Darwin University’s Enterprise Agreement because casual employees not entitled to vote took part in the ballot.
It followed concerns raised by the National Tertiary Education Union NT branch that unentitled voters took part in the vote.
NTEU organisers opposed the agreement which included an eight per cent pay-rise to October 2024, up to 30 days paid gender affirmation leave, five days of menstruation and menopause leave and capacity to work at home one day a week.
The union raised its concerns at a Fair Work hearing on December 20, 2022 and on January 18.
Fair Work commissioner Christopher Platt said CDU “may have provided” an opportunity for employees who were not entitled to vote on the proposed agreement to do so”.
He said this “raised an issue as to whether the proposed agreement has been genuinely agreed”.
He based the decision on a 2019 Fair Work full bench ruling which rejected an EBA struck between Kmart and retail workers’ union SDA because casual workers not entitled to vote had participated in the ballot.
Information provided to Fair Work by CDU indicated at the time of the November ballot, 1802 employees were covered by the proposed agreement and 1065 voted.
The EBA was carried by 131 votes with 664 CDU employees voting in favour.
CDU’s figures showed 556 casual employees were covered to vote.
At the January 18 conference, CDU submitted documents showing 405 casual employees performed work in the agreement access period between November 7-14 2022 and that 556 casual employees took part in the vote between November 15-17.
“From this information, it appeared 151 casual employees who were ineligible to vote (based on the Kmart decision) were provided with access to the ballot,” Commissioner Platt said.
Additional information supplied by CDU showing the existence of fixed-term casual contracts failed to sway Fair Work.
“In my view this approach does not change the nature of the casual engagement,” he said “It does not offer any guarantee of employment. Despite the reference to a fixed term, casual employees continue to be engaged by the hour subject to a minimum engagement with no guarantee of future employment.”
Commissioner Platt concluded that “On the information provided, it is possible that the ballot included 151 votes … in support of the proposed agreement that could have been cast by persons ineligible to vote. The removal of those votes would result in a valid majority not being achieved.”
CDU vice-chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said 63 per cent of staff supported the EBA and Fair Work’s decision was “disappointing”.
“We know that there was strong support for our proposed Enterprise Agreement and we are carefully considering our next steps, which may include appeal,” he said.
Darius Pfitzner, NT president of the NTEU, said the union is seeking feedback from members.
“The union is concerned with the result and is in the process of seeking feedback about how its members want to move forward.”
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