Welcome to the AREEA Member Portal

Login

Register

Is your company a member of AREEA?  Register now to access the Member Portal

Welcome to the AREEA Member Portal

News, information and resources in one location for your access to ongoing support.

From fact sheets, guides and reference libraries to breaking news, the portal is your comprehensive and exclusive reference tool.

Abbott Government’s workplace policies revisited

WITH the Abbott Government set to introduce its first tranche of Fair Work Act amendments to parliament this week, it is worth revisiting the key aspects of its Policy to Improve the Fair Work Laws, released while in Opposition on May 9, 2013.

Among the key provisions were many that AREEA has endorsed and advocated.

In a media release on 9 May 2013, AREEA said the policy was a step in the right direction but would have liked the suggested reforms to go further. The Coalition has said it will make no changes other than what is in that policy during its first term of government.

It has, however, flagged that it may need to make changes to the regulations and other rules underpinning the Fair Work Act, but that those will go no further than giving effect to its policy.

Any further changes will have to wait until the outcome of the upcoming Productivity Commission review of the Fair Work Act, and will not be made until a second term of the Coalition government.

CHANGES TO BE INTRODUCED THIS WEEK (Fair Work Act amendments)

Union access to workplaces

  • In line with its policy, the Coalition is expected to reverse union access or “right of entry” changes made by Labor under the Fair Work Amendment Act 2013 which took effect on 1 January 2014. Provisions that will be repealed include those giving unions default access to employee lunchrooms and requiring employers to provide travel and accommodation to facilitate union access to remote sites.
  • The Coalition is also expected to change key parts of the current union access laws to return them to the rules as they stood immediately prior to the introduction of the Fair Work Act on 1 July 2009. Key provisions expected to be implemented include:
    • Union entry for discussion purposes will only be permitted if the union is covered by a relevant enterprise agreement or it is seeking in good faith to make an agreement and a union member has requested its presence;
    • If a workplace is covered by a modern award or an enterprise agreement that does not cover a particular union, access for discussion purposes will only be allowed if that union can demonstrate that it has previously had a lawful role in that workplace (such as being covered by a pre-modernised award) AND a member has requested its presence;

Individual flexibility

The Coalition is expected as part of the amendments to ensure that enterprise agreements cannot restrict the use of Individual Flexibility Arrangements (IFAs). This means the “model” flexibility clause will be mandatory in agreements and will not be able to be bargained down by unions during negotiations.

Any IFAs subsequently entered into between employers and individual employees will still have to leave workers ‘better off’ as is currently the case. The Coalition has said it will not re-introduce Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).

As outlined in its policy, the Coalition is also expected to introduce a 13-week (90-day) notice period for terminating an IFA by either party as recommended by the Fair Work Act Review Panel at recommendation 17. This would replace the current 28-day notice period. IFAs will continue to have to be genuinely agreed.

New project (“Greenfield”) agreements

The Coalition’s policy is to introduce “good faith bargaining” rules to cover greenfield negotiations, with greenfield negotiations having to be completed within three months of starting.

If negotiations are not completed within three months, the employer’s latest offer could be approved upon application to the Fair Work Commission as long as it passed the Better Off Overall Test, the National Employment Standards, the public interest test and other tests that are yet to be defined.

As is currently the case, under the Coalition’s policy, employers would only have to negotiate with the union covering the majority of potential workers to be covered by an agreement, not all eligible unions.

Under the Coalition’s policy, after making a greenfield agreement with an employer, the union would be made a party to that agreement which would allow it to enter that site for discussion purposes.

Protected industrial action and enterprise bargaining

Under the Coalition’s policy, the Fair Work Commission would only be able to approve a secret ballot order for protected industrial action if the commission was satisfied there had been genuine and meaningful talks “between workers and business”. That is, bargaining would have had to have commenced by either the employer agreeing to bargain or the union obtaining a majority support determination.

Transfer of business

The Coalition is expected to amend the transfer of business provisions to make it clear that when employees, on their own initiative, seek to transfer to a related entity of their current employer, they will be subject to the terms and conditions of employment provided by the new employer.

Annual leave

The Coalition’s policy provides that annual leave loading is not payable on termination of employment unless a modern award or enterprise agreement expressly provides to that effect.

It also provides that annual leave does not accrue while an employee is on leave and in receipt of workers’ compensation benefits.

OTHER COALITION POLICIES

Building and construction industry

Prior to the September 2013 election, the Coalition flagged it would seek to re-establish the Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC) as one of its first acts of government, replacing the former Labor Government’s Fair Work Building & Construction (FWBC).

This process has commenced, with relevant legislation passing through the lower house and currently being considered by a Senate Committee.

In reinstating the ABCC, the Coalition plans to introduce:

  • Higher penalties for unlawful conduct
  • Stronger prosecutorial powers
  • Greater scope for injunctions
  • Stronger anti-coercion provisions
  • Greater accountability of unions for their members’ unlawful conduct and
  • New rules against unlawful picketing.

A restored ABCC would also administer a strengthened national construction code and guidelines which were weakened under Labor with the Building Code 2013. The Coalition has also promised to work with state governments that have enacted their own codes and implementation guidelines to ensure consistency. Those states are currently Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

Registered Organisations

The Coalition in late 2013 tabled legislation in parliament to introduce the same rules for registered organisations as apply to companies and directors, with the same penalties as apply under the Corporations Act 2001.

As part of that legislation, the Coalition is seeking to create a Registered Organisations Commission as a national and genuinely independent watchdog to ensure the new rules and obligations are strictly enforced.

Productivity Commission Review

The Coalition has tasked the Productivity Commission with conducting a thorough analysis of the Fair Work laws and the impact they are having on the economy, productivity and jobs.

This will be a comprehensive, independent and broad review of the laws, with recommendations to ensure that workers remain sufficiently protected and that businesses are able to grow and prosper.

Any changes arising out of the Productivity Commission review will be taken to the 2016 federal election before being implemented and are not expected to be actioned during the current term of the Abbott Government.

Terms of reference for the review are expected to be released in March.

Paid Parental Leave

The Coalition’s policy is to deliver a boosted Paid Parental Leave Scheme giving mothers six months’ (26 weeks’) paid leave based on their actual wage (capped at $75,000 for the six months) plus superannuation. This was originally planned to be funded by a tax on large businesses.

Underpaid workers

Under the Coalition’s policy, any backpay collected on behalf of workers by the Fair Work Ombudsman arising from underpayments by their employer would attract interest that would go to the employee rather than the government as is currently the case.

Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal

The Coalition has commenced a review into the operation of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal as it says there is no evidence that a separate, additional tribunal or a further level of regulation is necessary in this area. Other protections like the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator will remain.

Superannuation

The Coalition has tabled legislation in federal parliament seeking to defer by two years the next increase in employer superannuation contributions, set to take effect on 1 July 2014. This would delay the increase in compulsory contributions from the current 9.25% to 9.5% until 1 July 2016 instead of 2014.

However, if the legislation does not pass through parliament before that date, it is expected the 1 July 2014 increase will still take effect as previously legislated by Labor.

Create your AREEA Member login

Register