Bargaining for Better Work

Do I have to take industrial action? The answer to this depends on whether you are looking for a legal answer or an ethical answer.

Under Australian law, there is no requirement for you to take part in industrial action in accordance with a democratic decision of your colleagues in which you have had a chance to have your say. However, most union members feel an obligation to their colleagues to participate in industrial action that has been the subject of a democratic decision.

 

Each decision to take industrial action is a collective decision of NTEU members. If a democratic decision is made to take action it is important that everyone who can support that action by participating in it fully – we will all benefit from the results in better salaries and conditions, so we should all stand together to achieve them. For example, if the action decided on is to stop work, it undermines the action if someone continues to perform work at home.

Industrial action means collective stopping of work (also known as a strike, which can be anything from one hour to an indefinite stoppage), or the collective performance of work in a manner different from the way it is usually performed (usually called a ban, such as a ban on answering emails).

A non-union agreement is one that the employer produces unilaterally, without negotiating with the Union at all, or after pulling out of negotiations that had already started. The employer puts the Agreement to a direct vote of all staff, without endorsement of NTEU members.

The employer is legally allowed to do this.

Non-union ballots are invariably weaker than those negotiated by unions. Management might dangle a ‘carrot’, such as a sign-on bonus, to encourage staff to vote for the Agreement, while reducing redundancy entitlements and job security measures.

If management proposes a non-union ballot, we have to defeat it quickly and decisively.

Negotiating always involves give and take, with the employer making concessions and the union having to compromise on some of its claims. Your Branch Bargaining team will communicate regularly with members and seek frequent input and contribution to arguments at the table and responses to management proposals.

The basic principle is that ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’. If you are not yet a union member you cannot participate in determining what is accepted, so join now.

When the bargaining team thinks they have a draft agreement which can be put to members for full endorsement, this is first checked by the NTEU’s National Executive to ensure nothing in the proposed Agreement could compromise or undermine agreements at other branches. Once approved by National Executive, the Agreement is then put to branch members for endorsement at a general meeting. Once the Agreement has been endorsed by NTEU members, it will then be put to a formal vote of all staff.

If the vote is successful, the Agreement proceeds for final checking and ratification by the Fair Work Commission before it becomes legally binding.

Australian law requires that the employer must deduct pay for any period during which an employee is on strike. So, if you are on strike for a day, you will lose a day’s pay.

If you participate in a work-ban – for example, on answering emails from management, or attending meetings called by management – the employer has three options: it can maintain your full pay, make a partial reduction in pay to reflect the severity of the ban, or not accept work from you at all (and not pay you at all) while you are participating in a ban.

The NTEU has a ‘strike fund’, which can be used to support members, and casual members in particular, who lose income as a result of industrial action. The rules around protected industrial action protect you from adverse action by management; your contract cannot be terminated or your performance called into question as a result of participating in industrial action.

We believe the best way to stay involved and in touch is as a union member - you will receive regular updates and be invited to all-member meetings where decisions are made about the process, inclusions and exclusions in the Branch Log of Claims. As a union member, should it come to it, you will be protected if your branch membership decides to take any form of protected industrial action; if you aren't a member, you cannot participate without putting yourself at risk.

But if you cannot become a member for some reason, there are still many ways to participate:

• Participate in union actions – come to sundowners, meetings, workshops, protests, and make suggestions for events you think would be effective, too!
• Be a visible supporter – put up posters, wear a badge or sticker. You can also request printed materials and other merch from your Branch office.
• Talk to your friends about bargaining and why they need to join.
• Join a bargaining reference group or the campaign committee
• Sign up to be a volunteer.

We do understand that circumstances arise where union membership seems out of reach or unaffordable. If that's the case, please contact your Branch Organiser who will be happy to show how union membership is worth investing in - it's tax deductible and in this climate, more important that ever to have a workplace safety net. 

Convinced? Join here!  

We also have an easy form you can complete on the Bargaining homepage - click on over to start your union journey!

Members decide what we claim for, i.e. our Log of Claims (LoC) – through two processes:

• The NTEU's National Council, which consists of elected delegates from all branches, determines the overall bargaining strategy by identifying the common issues that widely affect members nationally.

• Members at each NTEU branch decide on the local claims to be pursued with their employers, alongside the claims which form part of the national strategy.

Most nationally shared claims are qualitative rather than quantitative, so members shape what the national claims look like in practice locally. NTEU members develop Branch LoCs over a period of time and it is then taken to an all members' meeting for review. Once members are satisfied, the LoC is put up for endorsement and it is that Log of Claims that is presented to management as an initial document of the intention of the members.

Sometimes we have to take industrial action because our employer is refusing to reach an agreement with the Union. Employers are by law allowed to do this. Employees have no way of requiring the employer to reach a new agreement, and there is no right in Australia to have disputes arbitrated by an umpire. Industrial action and the prospect of it is the difference between collective bargaining and collective begging.

Should we feel industrial action is necessary, we first have to conduct a Protected Action Ballot (PAB).