ALP looks at right to strike for industry-wide pay claims

Federal Labor is examining giving unions and workers the right to strike in support of industry-wide pay claims.

Labor workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor. Picture: AAP.

Federal Labor is examining giving unions and workers the right to strike in support of industry-wide pay claims but the Fair Work Commission could be given ­greater powers to suspend and cease industrial action against multiple employers.

The Australian understands the ALP is considering changes to the Fair Work Act that would allow unions and workers to take protected industrial action in support of industry bargaining.

But sources said there were reservations inside the parliamentary ALP about giving “universal ­access” to unions to take industrial action in support of sector-wide claims. Labor MPs cited the ­capacity of the construction union to secure annual 4 to 5 per cent ­annual pay rises in contrast to the flat wages growth across much of the workforce. If the expansion was not universal, it would likely be limited to industries where ­enterprise bargaining was deemed to be ineffective, such as childcare and aged care.

In a bid to address employer concerns about the potential ­impact of strikes from industry-wide bargaining, sources said any easing of the industrial action ­restrictions could coincide with the commission being given greater powers to stop or suspend industrial action.

ALP parliamentary sources stressed no final decision had been made about allowing industry-wide bargaining, or the proposed model. Industry-wide bargaining will be a key focus of the industrial relations policy debate at the ALP national conference in December.

However, sources said detail of any industry bargaining framework was not likely to be released until closer to next year’s federal election.

Following an aggressive campaign by the ACTU in support of industry-wide bargaining, Labor has previously left open legislating to allow unions and workers to strike in support of sector-wide pay claims. Opposition workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor has said the current low-paid bargaining laws allowing claims on multiple employers have been an “abject failure”.

“Labor believes Australian workers deserve a pay rise and better job security,’’ he said.

“The current low-paid bargaining stream has not delivered as was intended.”

The government and employers claim allowing workers to strike in support of sector-wide pay claims would kill jobs.

But University of Adelaide law professor Andrew Stewart said it was appropriate to look at industry bargaining and revisit the low-bargaining stream that he believed was “not thought through as to how it would work” when it was introduced by the previous Labor government.

“The idea that you provide for expanded access to industry-level bargaining in industries or sectors where enterprise bargaining isn’t for practical reasons readily available, I think that is probably hitting a sweet spot between just standing back and letting collective bargaining decline and, on the other hand, taking us back to a pre-1990s system which strongly favours a handful of strong, well-organised unions,’’ he said.

“The devil is going to be in the detail. How do you define those ­industries where industry bargaining is available? How widely is the right to take industrial action available? What are the preconditions?

Unions have highlighted aged care, childcare and universities as sectors where workers should have the legal power to conduct multi-employer bargaining.