Sector-wide bargaining could lead to more strikes, business closures

would likely lead to a significant increase in strikes and could force businesses to move offshore, automate more roles or close altogether, a leading employment lawyer has warned.

But Mr Doyle said this would create “immense” industrial pressure on employers and would have “the capacity to bring some employers and supply chains to breaking point”. “Some will look to automation, partial divestment or offshoring [and] some business models might simply become unsustainable, or might need to find a new wages equilibrium that is lower than current rates.”He said sector-wide bargaining would also make clarity over what rights employers have to apply to terminate industrial action – currently a hot topic that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says will be discussed at the jobs summit – “even more critical”.

Ashurst employment partner Jon Lovell said the current “better off overall test” – which means employees’ conditions must be “better off” under an EBA than they would be under the relevant award – needed “some tweaks”, although it did not need to be abolished. “That could open up the discussion to having EBAs which are broader, create more flexibility and create incentives to improve productivity,” he said.“At the moment we have barriers to negotiations and a disincentive to negotiate in many industries,” he said, urging a return to the “Paul Keating vision for enterprise bargaining” where there were fewer awards and fewer clauses.

“A lot of our clients would like to see a mechanism for there to be a way of coming to a resolution, be it through arbitration or another mechanism, before negotiations get to that extent,” he said.

we have the battery materials n we need the manufacturing but unions are being bloody minded It has to be their way or the highway It is not conducive to efficient manuf as unions would dictate conditions Labor should dump union funding n go indep

Typical FR fear campaign. Their only interest is in promoting big business and couldn't give a bugger about social issues and worker quality of life. Just Money, Money, Money

Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Childcare ripe for sector-wide bargaining but no standalone solution: industryProviders warn any increase in wages in the childcare sector will have to be backed by extra government funding or parents will be slugged with higher fees.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »

Business and unions soften stance on industry-wide bargaining and better off overall testThe Business Council and ACTU have signalled they’re prepared to give ground at the jobs summit, while coming together with other key industry groups in a rare joint statement.
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »

Unions and business agree on need for higher wages as jobs summit loomsACTU and business council want to revive ‘key principles’ of controversial enterprise bargaining deal dumped years ago Poor old David Speers was totally lost as Jennifer Westacott and Sally McMannus agreed on nearly everything denying him any opportunity to adversarially put one against the other . Definitely hope for the nation , but thoroughly disappointing for Speers . Westacott & McMannus pointing out that apprentices aren’t finishing their trades because of the low pay rate . This occurs because apprentices are staying at school until Year 12 , when before apprentices started when 15 or after completing year 10 and still living at home.
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »

LIVE COVERAGE: Business ‘very concerned’ by any changes to wage bargainingBCA CEO Jennifer Westacott says there are significant problems with moving to industry-wide bargaining; Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the current system is broken; ECB policymakers make the case for big rate increases. Follow the latest here.
Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »