ASU multi-employer bargaining update

On Wednesday the ASU, Professionals Australia and the ANMF, along with the employers and their lawyers, attended a ‘mention’ (preliminary hearing) for our historic MEB application for 10 metropolitan councils.

Rather than respecting and accepting the will of the majority of their employees, eight councils have chosen to fight our application for a MEB. Some employers have taken the extraordinarily hostile step of seeking to bargain – without any unions – for a single EA and are seeking to put their sham agreements out to a vote of employees.

This is an indication of how desperate some employers are to avoid their workers achieving more power and a better bargaining position through a multi-employer enterprise agreement. We note that Greater Dandenong has respected the wishes of its employees and is consenting to our application, and Hobsons Bay has taken the position that it neither consents nor objects.

Throughout this process the ASU has sought to minimize any potential or avoidable delays and have this matter dealt with as efficiently as possible.

Noting that eight councils have chosen to fight our application – including by making the fanciful arguments that local council employers do not have a “common interest” and that workers achieving more power through a MEB is contrary to the public interest – we have made our application early, which would allow the Fair Work Commission to hear, consider and rule on the employers’ objections and make the order granting our MEB authorization without any avoidable delay after your current EA has expired.

Today, eight of the councils (Brimbank, Darebin, Hume, Maribyrnong, Melbourne, Merri-bek, Port Phillip and Yarra) chose to contest this approach, by arguing that the Fair Work Commission cannot consider the application until after the current EAs have expired. The Fair Work Commission has advised that the matter will be listed for a substantive hearing in two weeks. 

This has the practical effect of potentially delaying both our application and the granting of a MEB authorisation.

The ASU remains extremely confident of our legal position; we are confident that the majority of workers in each of the 10 councils has clearly expressed their desire for the MEB and that the legal requirements for the granting of our MEB application are satisfied.

There is a profoundly disappointing irony in the fact that employer scare tactics regarding MEBs have focused on potential delays through this process. And now, they are seeking to use inane technical loopholes to frustrate this process and indeed, to cause delays to the granting of our authorization, and ultimately, to you receiving your pay rise.

All workers can be assured that the ASU is determined and confident that our MEB authorization will ultimately be granted, and members will fully use their increased bargaining power to win a strong pay rise (with back pay) and improvements to working conditions.

In the meantime, we encourage members to consider the draft claims that were circulated yesterday – including the wage claim – and provide any feedback so that we can ensure we are ready to go as soon as our authorization is granted by the Fair Work Commission.

For further information please speak with your ASU delegates, your ASU site organiser or call our member contact centre on 1300 855 570