Research Articles Base: Workplaces Essays Australia

Enterprise Agreements within Australian Workplaces

Introduction             In Australia, there are specific ways that employees could be employed. Various forms of employment contracts have significant impacts on rights and entitlements. Noteworthy to mention is the fact that Australia is a federation with six states and two internal territories; as such, the conducts of industries are guided by a legislative law and statutes. Two of the main structures of contracts are awards and agreements which legally binds the employment. On the one hand, awards embark on the rights and obligations of employers about hours of employment, pay rates, penalty rates, loadings, allowances, leave entitlements, employment protection provisions and part-time or casual work. On the other hand, like awards agreements are legal documents that specify rights, entitlements and obligations of employers and employees.   The basics of enterprise agreements             As said by Brassil, “enterprise agreements are agreements made by workers in a particular workplace with their employer which override exiting awards or agreement” (241). Enterprise agreements could be negotiated at both state and federal levels whereby the terms contained in the agreements will also determine the rights and duties of employees and employers. Awards, on the other hand, refers to a decision made by a federal or state industrial tribunal that sets out the general rules governing the behaviours between employers and employees in a particular type of employment. Awards usually contain rates of pay, leave arrangement and hours of work. In case that conflict occurs, the general rules apply: first, the terms contained in an enterprise agreement override those contained in award; second, conditions contained in an award override those contained in an individual contract, unless those provided by the contract are more advantageous to the employee; third, legislation prevails over common law rules; and fourth, awards, agreements and individual contracts must abide by legislation. Under the Workplace Relations Act 1996, Australian Workplace Agreements which is a form of individual contract that can be made, could override enterprise agreements and awards and both state and federal awards however (Ibid.).  The benefits of enterprise agreements             Enterprise agreements advent employee in many ways. A collective agreement that could identify and address the particular needs of a business, enterprise agreements clarifies the rates of pays and conditions of employment and provides greater entitlements. To ensure that the interests of the employees are protected, they can be represented in negotiation by a union or it can be negotiated by a nominated committee of employees voted by the majority of employees (65%). Also, enterprise agreements is subject to a ‘no disadvantage test’ before it can registered which means that the agreement must by no mean provide disadvantages to employees when compared with the award. If the conditions set out in the agreements are breached, an application for remedy of the breach or recovery of entitlements can be made before Industrial Relations Commission in respective states in accordance with the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (Australian Workers Union). The differences with awards             The main difference, however, is that agreement only applies to the employees of one particular company. As such, agreements conform to a case-to-case basis. The conditions set out on awards are applied to all the workers in an industry and these cannot be altered by the employer unilaterally. In awards, a minimum standard for enterprise bargaining is being clarified as well and there are no limits to when you can strike. Awards are also adjusted each year by the union in either the National or State Wage Cases. For agreements, alternatively, it is a collective agreement where enterprise bargaining could result in significant improvements in wages and conditions. Nonetheless, workers have the autonomy to prioritise the issues more important to them (Ibid; Office of Industrial Relations). The applications of enterprise agreements in building and construction industry             As already mentioned, enterprise agreements are specific to a particular enterprise or project; the building and construction industry is not an exemption. Inherent to this industry is the key features of the construction industry agreements such as the trends in construction agreements that covers wage increases, earnings and employee benefits; performance pay initiatives and KPIs; hours of work arrangements; leave provisions; communication, OHS, training, grievance procedures and redundancy; and EEO and family friend provisions. Union/non-union and AWAs and changes in the agreement over time are also covered (Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, 2).     Aside from statutes, the six states have respective code of practice for the building and construction industry which also covers the enterprise agreements between employers and employees. The cooperative nature in the management of industrial relations which involves the participation of employers, industry associations, unions, contractors, sub-contractors, consultants and suppliers to comply with the standards of the respective Codes, to transparently communicate with industry participants and to commit to a best practice working environment. Based on this, all parties are responsible for employment equality of opportunity as set out in awards and legal obligations relating to employment such as the enterprise agreements (Industrial Relations Victoria, 3).             Registered enterprise bargaining agreements are applied apart from applicable federal laws and other legislative requirements. Enterprise agreements and the contents are upheld in such a way that a party must not be pressured or coerced another party to enter either directly or indirectly. Within the industry, the integrity of individual enterprise agreements should be maintained. (4). However, the recent trend now is patter bargaining whereby the occurrence of a common approach to the inclusion of a number of key provisions in collective arrangements is possible. Pattern bargaining is regarded to be where either union or employers or the employer association have attempted to strategically and deliberately ensure common outcomes in agreements in the industry (Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, 34). Conclusion             The main difference between awards and agreements is their scope; awards are applicable on all employees while enterprise agreements are applicable only to a specific industry. Despite this fact, enterprise agreements greatly profit employees as this employee contract is subjected to ‘no disadvantage test’. In the building and construction industry, the enterprise agreements are applied in accordance to specific statutes applied for the purpose of honing a cooperative approach to industrial relationship management. The pattern bargaining is the most recent trend in the building and construction industry.                   References   Australian Workers Union. Employment Contracts. 15 August 2008 < http://awu-nsw.asn.au/rights/emp_contracts.html>.   Brassil, Belinda. Excel HSC Legal Studies. Pascal Press, 2007.   Office of Industrial Relations. Rights and Responsibilities. 15 August 2008 <http://www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au/rights/employer/relation/agreemt.html>.     Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry. Key Features and Trends in Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreements. Discussion Paper 5. 15 August 2008 < http://www.royalcombci.gov.au/docs/DP%205%20Key%20Feat.pdf>. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Enterprise Agreements within Australian Workplaces

Introduction In Australia, there are specific ways that employees could be employed. Various forms of employment contra...

Indigenous Australian

Indigenous Australian             Problematic conditions, according to the art works in the pictures, have to be prepared or formulated with due attention to their conceptual and theoretical insinuations, and to suitable paradigms of experiential research and appropriate models of verifications. These models and paradigms in turn, must be created that they allow further conceptual and theoretical insinuations to be strained from their service. The conceptual and theoretical insinuations of problematic conditions should be first fully discovered.             However, to take hold the problems regarding the health status of indigenous people, you have to concentrate to four stages or sensibilities (Mills, 1959). An the first one is the elements and descriptions that, from the general awareness of topic, area, or issue of concern that you think you are going to have to take into consideration. The pictures of Paleolithic art shows indigenous people,; this may include the definition of the issue o topic that is going to be discussed.             The second one is the reasonable relations between this elements and definitions; creating these groundwork models, parenthetically, affords the great chance for the play of sociological imagination. Social imagination is essential because it permits to grasp biography and history, and the relations between them within the theory, and this is its task and its assurance. Moreover, it allows its holder to comprehend the larger historical scene in terms of its definition for the internal life and the exterior career of diversity in art.             The important terms, which shape the basis of the Paleolithic imagination, are the tradition, biography, private troubles and public issues. The imagination entails to connect in the study of an individual’s biography, such as those indigenous people; but the place that biography in the broad perspective of the history and tradition of the society in which that individual lives. The pictures suggest that a valuable way of understanding imagination is to use the “fruitful distinction” between on the one hand “the public issues of social construction” and on the other is “the personal troubles of milieu”.             The third one is the elimination of false observations due to oversights of wanted components, inappropriate or uncertain definition of terms, or unnecessary emphasis on some part of the variety and its commonsensical extensions (Laving, 2004). This stage is very fundamental but often disregarded part of any sufficient statement of the problem. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Indigenous Australian

Indigenous Australian Problematic conditions, according to the art works in the pictures, have to be prepared or formulated w...

Sample Essay There are many reasons why Australias is so successful

Canberra, 5 February 2001 The TWO: Challenges ahead [Abridged speech to the Australian National Press Club by Director General of the TWO, Mike Moore] “There are many reasons why Australia is so successful. But surely one of the main ones is its greater openness to trade. In 1990, Australia’s exports came to 39 billion US dollars. Last year, they were an estimated billion. Ten years ago, imports came to 39 billion US dollars. Now they are put at billion. Total trade, exports plus imports, now accounts for over two fifths of the economy. A decade ago, it accounted for only a third or so. What do all these numbers mean? They mean that Australia is much more open than it was. And because it is more open, it has become richer and a better place to live. Trade works its wonders in many ways. Higher exports help pay for goods and services that are more cheaply produced abroad. The need to compete in world markets forces companies to become more efficient. And exporting firms provide good, high-paying jobs. A study by Tim Harcourt of the Australian Trade Commission  finds that exporting firms pay 60% more than non-exporting ones. Exporting firms also provide more employee consultation, more job security and more training. In short, they are better employers. The best security workers have is a healthy balance sheet. Imports too bring many benefits. Cheaper food and clothing for working families. Cheaper and better cars and electronic goods. Cheaper inputs that make businesses more competitive. And last but not least, new technologies and greater competition, both of which boost economic growth. The benefits of greater openness are not just economic. I love my country, and I’m sure you love yours too. But it’s great that we can read the New York Times online, travel to Europe, and sing karaoke. Openness is not just about getting richer. It’s about enriching people’s lives by embracing, rather than shunning, what the rest of the world has to offer. Opening up, which is basically what that ugly world “globalization” means, is in keeping with the internationalism that progressive people have always championed. The Asian crisis could have turned truly lethal had leaders not stayed the course and had markets closed. It happened before, during the great depression, which gave birth to hostile trading blocks and to our organization, which was created to prevent this. The system worked. Our challenge now is to continue to open up. Some people think that globalization, on which every perceived ill is blamed, has gone too far. They want to turn the clock back to a golden age that never was. I’m old enough to remember those times: the stagnation of the 70s when we lived in glorious isolation. Then, only the rich who could travel overseas had consumer choice. Trying to go back to those old ways is not an option.”  (2001). The TWO: Challenges Ahead. Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://www.tuc.org.uk/english/newsier/spume/spmm52_e.htm   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Sample Essay There are many reasons why Australias is so successful

Canberra, 5 February 2001 The TWO: Challenges ahead [Abridged speech to the Australian National Press Club by Director General of the TWO,...