She might be right in some areas of the economy, but my experience is that life is definitely much more ‘pluralistic’ than that. Often it is employees and unions that have held the whip hand for decades, and employers feel it is pointless to fight that. We have conducted strategy sessions with...
Author Fred Bolling, Special Consultant Each time you “fend off” a large number of these claims, but you feel somewhat obliged in each renegotiation to give something, although you feel you get nothing in return. After a few rounds of negotiations over several years, you realize that your EBA is...
Ford, General Motors, Toyota, SPC Ardmona and Qantas. The Federal Government’s decision not to offer the financial support each was looking for clearly signals that companies need to deal with their problems in-house.
Why do some employers have a habit of shooting themselves in the foot in bargaining negotiations with unions and other parties, whilst others do a far better job at keeping in control of their labour costs and employee productivity? We provide some clues.
The issues at the heart of the recent Qantas bargaining dispute were not wage increases or other financial benefits for the employees involved. They ran to the heart of how Qantas would be able to conduct its future business in a challenging business environment. These were not matters that were capable of being lawfully negotiated under Work Choices – a point lost in the debate and all the disruption in the aftermath of the dispute. Our article discusses the history of arbitration in Australia - and whether the government should heed union calls for increased intervention from the "umpire".
In light of the recent employer response action taken by Qantas to end the protracted period of industrial action against it by unions, we highlight the uncertainty that the Federal Government’s Fair Work Act legislation can create in relation to the threat of industrial action relating to enterprise bargaining.
Our parent company (ER Strategies Pty Ltd) Director Steve Champion sees the new good faith bargaining requirements as being one of the more important changes introduced by the Fair Work Act , and one that is likely to be seen as a turning point in the Australian Industrial Relations system in years to come.
We consider some aspects of the law surrounding the negotiation of enterprise agreements, which might surprise some employers not closely involved in the process recently.
