New Australian IR laws - what’s in and what’s out

OLD AND THE NEW

Fair Work bill vs Work Choices

Bargaining
Fair Work: New “good-faith” bargaining rules give workers the right to collective negotiations with an employer if a majority of workers wants it.
Work Choices: Preference is given to individual negotiations in the workplace, and employers are free to ignore unions.

Umpire
FW: Labor’s renamed industrial umpire, Fair Work Australia, to ensure good-faith bargaining, approve wage agreements, arbitrate on pay claims in some circumstances and terminate strikes that get out of control.
WC: The Australian Industrial Relations Commission mediates disputes, but lacks any power except to terminate strike action.

Right of entry
FW: Unions must get a permit from Fair Work Australia to enter workplaces and give employers 24 hours’ notice. The union can meet workers only during breaks, provided the employees on the premises are eligible to be represented, but may not necessarily be members.
WC: A permit and 24 hours’ notice is required, plus time and place at the convenience of the employer. But unions are excluded from worksites where workers are signed to non-union individual agreements.

Right to strike
FW: Legally protected strike action requires a secret ballot with half of the employees on the roll taking part in the vote. Of those, more than 50 per cent must support a strike before it is legal.
WC: Legally protected strike requires a majority vote by workers eligible to vote.

Minimum standards
FW: Minimum standards to be guaranteed by 10 legislated conditions, and a further 10 award conditions.
WC: Five minimum standards only for workers on workplace agreements. Once employees quit the award for an enterprise agreement, the award no longer applies.

National IR system
FW: National industrial relations system for incorporated businesses in the private sector. Labor is willing to take over the responsibility for non-incorporated small businesses and state public servants
WC: National industrial relations system for incorporated businesses in the private sector

Individual agreements
FW: The Coalition’s legislated non-union individual employment contracts, called Australian Workplace Agreements, to be abolished in March. Interim non-union agreements will remain in place until January 2010. After that, common law contracts or individual flexibility clauses in awards and agreements will be the only avenue for individual arrangements.
WC: AWAs, the Coalition’s preferred non-union agreement, allowed no right to collective bargaining and only one-on-one negotiations with the employer.

Unfair dismissals
FW: The universal right to claim unfair dismissal for harsh or unjust termination is restored. Concessions will be made to small businesses.
WC: Right to unfair dismissal only available to employees in big firms with more than 100 employees .