Enterprise Bargaining Agreement

An Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) consists of a collective industrial agreement between either:
# an employer and a trade union acting on behalf of employees, or:
# an employer and employees acting for themselves.

On the one hand collective agreements, at least in principle, benefit employers, as they allow for improved "flexibility" in such areas as ordinary hours, flat rates of hourly pay, and performance-related conditions. On the other hand collective agreements benefit workers, as they usually provide higher pay, bonuses, additional leave and enhanced entitlements (such as redundancy pay) than an award does.

EBAs in Australia

Unlike awards, which provide similar standards for all workers in the entire industry covered by a specific award, collective agreements usually apply only to workers for one employer - although on occasion a short-term collaborative agreement (for example, on a building-site) yields a multi-employer/employee agreement.

Parties endorse proposed enterprise bargaining agreements between themselves (in the case of employers the matter goes to a vote). The Australian Industrial Relations Commission then certifies them. (With the introduction of WorkChoices, agreements now renamed "collective workplace agreements" are lodged with the Workplace Authority and are checked for breaches of the Act.)

History of enterprise bargaining agreements

The Federal Keating government of 1991 - 1996 introduced enterprise bargaining agreements into the Australian industrial scene.

Use of enterprise bargaining agreements

Enterprise agreements have proved quite popular; on 30th of June 2006, 14383 Collective Agreements were active. [http://www.workplace.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/A8262658-77DE-4BB8-B0A4-F8E5DE422C0B/0/TrendsJ06.pdf June Trends in Enterprise Bargaining]

In practice they served to complement awards, and in combination they became the basic mechanisms for setting wages and conditions in Australia.

A standard enterprise bargaining agreement would last for three years.

EBAs had one unique feature in Australia: whilst negotiating a federal enterprise bargaining agreement, a group of employees or a trade union could, without legal penalties, undertake industrial action (including strikes) in pursuit of their claims .

Issues regarding enterprise bargaining agreements

A major legal question associated with enterprise agreements stemmed from the High Court of Australia's decision in the case of Electrolux v The Australian Workers' Union. The question revolved around what these industrial instruments could cover. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission determined the matter in 2005 in the Three certified agreements case.

The future of EBAs in Australian industrial law

In the context of Australian labour law, the industrial reform of 2005 - 2006, known as "WorkChoices" (with its corresponding amendments to the Workplace Relations Act (1996)) changed the name of such agreement documents to "Collective Agreement". State industrial legislation can also prescribe collective agreements, but the enactment of the WorkChoices reform will make such agreements less likely to occur.

Parties to Australian federal collective agreements now lodge and certify these with the Workplace Authority. At state level, the appropriate state Industrial Relations Commission certifies state agreements.