Future Perfect: Importance of the Fair Work Act
The working rights for most Australians are laid out in Commonwealth legislation, most pertinently the Fair Work Act.
This Act was introduced by the Rudd government in 2009 in response to the over-reach of the Howard government’s WorkChoices legislation, and is has more recently been improved by several changes (with more to come) introduced by the Albanese government.
At its heart, the Fair Work Act is premised on a system of industrial awards guaranteeing basic conditions over and above those in the National Employment Standards.
The relevant award for private colleges is the Educational Services (Post-Secondary Education) Award, which lays out minimum pay rates and basic regulation around things like working hours and leave entitlements.
Above this award system is the ability for individual workplaces to bargain for enterprise agreements, which typically contain pay and conditions that are superior to the award. The Act includes provisions relating to ‘good faith bargaining’, under which an employer can be compelled to bargain when it can be demonstrated that a majority of employees (or even section of employees, such as teachers) want that to happen.
The Albanese government has already passed several welcome changes to the Act, including limiting the use of temporary contracts, strengthening bargaining rights, improving flexibility and parental leave, and banning pay secrecy. The government has also flagged further changes, including arrangements for casual employees.
To find out how the Act might be used at your workplace, contact your Union.
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The ACTU (of which the IEU is an affiliated member) is lobbying the Albanese government to improve the lot of casual employees, when the Federal Government attempts further reform of the Fair Work Act later this year.
— IEU NSW/ACT (@IEUNSWACT) June 15, 2023
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