WHILE many employers are concerned about the direction WA’s industrial relations system has taken, several organisations have taken steps to minimise the harm it could cause their members.
WHILE many employers are concerned about the direction WA’s industrial relations system has taken, several organisations have taken steps to minimise the harm it could cause their members.
Last week WA Business News reported on an attempt to create
a small business union to help negotiate enterprise bargaining agreements on an industry wide level.
Besides that attempt, several employer groups are at various stages of negotiating enterprise bargaining agreements with the unions that cover their sector, or are seeking other remedies for their members.
The first cab off the EBA rank is likely to be the WA Independent Grocers Association’s agreement with the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association.
That EBA application is to be heard in the WA Industrial Relations Commission on August 21. If approved, it will apply to most of the independently owned supermarkets in WA – including the FAL-owned Action supermarkets.
WA Independent Grocers Association president John Cummings said the EBA route had been chosen because it would allow his members to compete with national grocery chains Coles and Woolworths, which have EBAs in place.
He said that, without an EBA, his members would be forced to pay to award rates that would push their employment costs above those of the big grocery players.
The WA Retailers Association is in the midst of negotiating an EBA with SDAEA that will be sent to more than 5,000 small retailers.
Association CEO Martin Dempsey said the EBA was designed to create a model agreement that would be easier for small retailers to use than the award covering their sector.
“If the Independent Grocers’ EBA clears the WAIRC then our agreement should be no more than one month later,” he said.
Mr Dempsey admitted negotiating EBAs was a complex and technical process.
“To conceive of doing this with more than one union at a time you would need a lot of resources,” he said.
Motor Trade Association executive director Peter Fitzpatrick said his organisation was talking to the Australian Workers Union and the SDAEA to try and provide some coverage for service station owners.
“Our preference is to try and get some sensible award coverage with a union that realises the world has moved on from draconian penalty rates,” he said.
“The AWU hasn’t shown any real attempt at negotiating sensible rates of pay with us so we are trying get some coverage from the SDAEA.”
Mr Fitzpatrick said some employers within the service station sector would probably also consider entering the Federal industrial relations system.
Australian Hospitality Association executive director Bradley Woods said his organisation was not considering any collective agreement at the moment, even though the idea had some merit.
“We updated our award about 18 months ago and that brought us some better flexibility regarding hours and union right-of-entry provisions,” he said.
Restaurant and Catering Industry Association of WA executive director Terry Bright said he was waiting for the State Government to provide guidelines for its employee-employer agreements and no disadvantage tests before making any decisions.
“Our advice to members at the moment is to jump onto the award and stick to it,” he said.
“We’ve looked at going into the Federal system through Australian Workplace Agreements but there are problems with that.
“We are also considering some award simplification.”
Last week WA Business News reported on an attempt to create
a small business union to help negotiate enterprise bargaining agreements on an industry wide level.
Besides that attempt, several employer groups are at various stages of negotiating enterprise bargaining agreements with the unions that cover their sector, or are seeking other remedies for their members.
The first cab off the EBA rank is likely to be the WA Independent Grocers Association’s agreement with the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association.
That EBA application is to be heard in the WA Industrial Relations Commission on August 21. If approved, it will apply to most of the independently owned supermarkets in WA – including the FAL-owned Action supermarkets.
WA Independent Grocers Association president John Cummings said the EBA route had been chosen because it would allow his members to compete with national grocery chains Coles and Woolworths, which have EBAs in place.
He said that, without an EBA, his members would be forced to pay to award rates that would push their employment costs above those of the big grocery players.
The WA Retailers Association is in the midst of negotiating an EBA with SDAEA that will be sent to more than 5,000 small retailers.
Association CEO Martin Dempsey said the EBA was designed to create a model agreement that would be easier for small retailers to use than the award covering their sector.
“If the Independent Grocers’ EBA clears the WAIRC then our agreement should be no more than one month later,” he said.
Mr Dempsey admitted negotiating EBAs was a complex and technical process.
“To conceive of doing this with more than one union at a time you would need a lot of resources,” he said.
Motor Trade Association executive director Peter Fitzpatrick said his organisation was talking to the Australian Workers Union and the SDAEA to try and provide some coverage for service station owners.
“Our preference is to try and get some sensible award coverage with a union that realises the world has moved on from draconian penalty rates,” he said.
“The AWU hasn’t shown any real attempt at negotiating sensible rates of pay with us so we are trying get some coverage from the SDAEA.”
Mr Fitzpatrick said some employers within the service station sector would probably also consider entering the Federal industrial relations system.
Australian Hospitality Association executive director Bradley Woods said his organisation was not considering any collective agreement at the moment, even though the idea had some merit.
“We updated our award about 18 months ago and that brought us some better flexibility regarding hours and union right-of-entry provisions,” he said.
Restaurant and Catering Industry Association of WA executive director Terry Bright said he was waiting for the State Government to provide guidelines for its employee-employer agreements and no disadvantage tests before making any decisions.
“Our advice to members at the moment is to jump onto the award and stick to it,” he said.
“We’ve looked at going into the Federal system through Australian Workplace Agreements but there are problems with that.
“We are also considering some award simplification.”
