Multi-employer bargaining: Labor eyes industrial relations deal

Businesses would be able to negotiate with workers for six to 12 months before multi-employer bargaining under concessions being examined by Labor.

Resources and energy sector will launch a multi-million-dollar print, radio and television advertising campaign next week opposing the proposed expansion of multi-employer ­bargaining.

Businesses would be able to ­negotiate with workers for six to 12 months before being roped into multi-employer bargaining by unions under confidential concessions being examined by Labor to try to win Senate support for its contentious industrial relations changes.

Senate crossbencher David Pocock, whose vote is critical, ­revealed to The Australian he would consider the grace period proposal but warned the government that more changes were needed to win his support.

Resources and energy sector employers disclosed on Thursday they would launch a multi-million-dollar print, radio and television advertising campaign next week opposing the proposed expansion of multi-employer ­bargaining.

Ahead of a Senate inquiry hearing into the Secure Jobs Better Pay Bill on Friday, sources said business groups were pushing for amendments that could stop ­unions forcing companies into multi-employer bargaining for up to a year.

Under the change, which sources said was backed by the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an employer could delay being roped in if it could show it was recommencing bargaining, or intending to bargain, for an enterprise agreement.

David Pocock. Picture: Gary Ramage

However, unions are pushing for a six-month grace period, ­arguing the shorter time frame is a fair compromise and would ensure employers got on with bargaining

It is understood that the ACTU is also seeking amendments in ­relation to new rules governing strike ballots.

Senator Pocock said he would examine the grace period proposal but the concession was not enough for him to back the bill.

“It is worth looking at what an appropriate period of time for workers and their employers to recommence good faith single enterprise bargaining before multi-enterprise becomes an option would be,” the ACT senator said.

“However, I do not believe this alone would address all the ­concerns that have been raised with the legislation, from both ­unions and employer groups. There is a lot of work to be done to ensure we get this huge bundle of legislation right.”

Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said: ­“Unlike multi-employer bargaining, single-enterprise bargaining has a proven track record of seeing workers earn more. Amendments to this legislation are needed to make sure workers and businesses with a history of ­delivering better wages and conditions through the single enterprise system have a clear path to continuing to do so.

“As currently drafted, this legislation tips the balance too far in favour of multi-employer agreements and risks seeing workers lose out on higher pay and better conditions, so we welcome the government’s willingness to find solutions.

“As we agreed at the (jobs and skills) summit and the minister acknowledged in his second reading speech, keeping single-enterprise bargaining at the centre of our workplace system and making it work better is critical to getting wages moving.”

Australian Resources and ­Energy Employer Association chief executive Steve Knott, who revealed this week there was “white-hot anger” among mining, oil, and gas companies about the changes, said the new advertisements would be launched next week.

Mr Knott said the advertisements would set out why employers were opposed to the multi-employer bargaining changes and ask the government to “kill the bill”, or get the sector excluded.

“The target of the campaign is (Workplace Relations Minister Tony) Burke, not the crossbench,” Mr Knott said.

“We’re assuming the government will be able to navigate their way through the crossbench whether it’s this time around and even if they delay it, they’ll ­certainly have another go early next year.

“We just want to kill off the multi-employer bargaining aspect from our sector so our target with the print media campaign is very much the government not the crossbench and to get them to focus on what they said they would which is the low-paid ­sectors.

“Our industry is the highest-paid industry sector in Australia and before the election, they were never talking about multi-­employer bargaining in our sector. What they are going to capture is a whole bunch of people who have had expired enterprise agreements. That group do not want a small minority of union activists against the will of the majority dragging them into some multi-employer bargaining Fair Work strike process. They are implacably opposed.”

Jim Chalmers, speaking to a business forum in Western Australia, said he would make sure the issues raised by employers were considered during discussions by the federal cabinet.

The Treasurer said that, while many of the industries represented in the audience had not had stagnant wages in recent years, “a lot of industries in our economy have, and the one that is most ­concerning to me is around some of the lower-paid industries traditionally dominated by women”.

“We’ve got to find a way to get wages moving in a sustainable, sensible way in some of those industries.”

Given the contentious nature of industrial relations with its history, moving parts and complexity, there was not going to be unanimity on it, Dr Chalmers said. “But our job – and I take this job incredibly seriously – is to make sure that the issues that you raised with us in good faith are part of the conversation that we have around the cabinet table,” he added.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: PAUL GARVEY