Teachers and Educators

Collective Agreement Update #9 

20 September 2007

Requirements For Taking Protected industrial action

Under WorkChoices

·            any existing agreement has expired and the Commission has been notified that bargaining is beginning (this is known as initiating a bargaining period);

·            the industrial action does not involve pattern bargaining;

·            the industrial action is not in support of the inclusion of claims that cannot be lawfully included in an agreement (this is known as prohibited content); and

·            in the case of unions or employees, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission has granted an order for a secret ballot to be held and the ballot has endorsed action being taken.

Secret ballots

A secret ballot for industrial action must first be ordered by the Commission. An application for this type of order will normally be dealt with by the Commission within two working days. In considering whether or not to order a secret ballot, the Commission must be satisfied that the union or employees seeking the ballot:

·                have initiated the relevant bargaining period and have made genuine attempts to negotiate;

·                are not involved in pattern bargaining ( if the Union seeks common wages or conditions of employment for two or more proposed collective agreements);

·                are not taking industrial action in support of prohibited content (trying to ban AWAs in an agreement, for example, or allowing for industrial action during the life of an agreement).

If the Commission grants the application, the order will include details of the types of employees who are to be balloted, the voting method, who is to conduct the ballot, the timetable for the ballot and the questions to be put. The ballot will be conducted through the Australian Electoral Commission. The Union will have to bear 20% of the cost of the ballot.

Industrial action is authorised by the ballot if:

·                at least 50 per cent of those on the voting roll participated;

·                more than 50 per cent of votes cast were in favour of the action; and

·                the action begins no more than 30 days after the ballot is declared.

There’s about a four week turnaround from the time the application for the ballot is submitted and approved, and the ballot is conducted and declared.