- Enterprise Bargaining Agreement
An Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) consists of a collective industrial
agreement between either:
# anemployer and atrade union acting on behalf ofemployee s, 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 , andperformance -related conditions. On the other hand collective agreements benefitworker s, as they usually provide higher pay, bonuses, additionalleave and enhancedentitlement s (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 ofWorkChoices , agreements now renamed "collectiveworkplace agreements " are lodged with theWorkplace 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
wage s 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. TheAustralian Industrial Relations Commission determined the matter in 2005 in theThree 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.
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