TAFE & Adult Provision Keeping zombie agreements alive in the disability sector
One of the key changes in the federal government’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill 2022 was the expiration of all zombie agreements – those agreements in place before 1 January 2010 and still in operation even though they’ve passed their expiry date. These were set to automatically end in December of last year unless the Fair Work Commission granted an extension.
The AEU has 14 zombie agreements within our disability sector, each containing better clauses than the modern award. When we wrote to relevant employers and offered the opportunity to join the disability MEA or negotiate for a new enterprise agreement, many services chose to join the AEU in our new agreement negotiations, with some joining the MEA; others either didn’t respond or chose another option.
In other disability agreement news, midway through last year, the AEU, HACSU and 22 disability employers negotiated a rollover agreement of the 2019 Disability MEA with 12 improvements.
The Secure Jobs Bill also introduced a supported bargaining stream, which came into effect a year ago, designed to assist and encourage employers and employees who might find it difficult to bargain at their workplace. Employers listed in a supported bargaining authorisation are subject to certain rules in relation to the agreement. Once an authorisation is made, the Commission has powers to assist parties when bargaining towards an enterprise agreement.
Alongside HACSU, the AEU applied to the Fair Work Commission to approve a disability service supported bargaining authorisation and, at the same time, extend the remaining 11 disability services’ zombie agreements for up to a year. The FWC granted all 11 extensions in April, preserving above-award conditions for all workers covered by the zombie agreements at these disability services – that includes two additional weeks of annual leave, five additional personal leave days, admin time, and planning days. The process is due to be heard in the FWC in November.
In other disability agreement news, midway through last year, the AEU, HACSU and 22 disability employers negotiated a rollover agreement of the 2019 Disability MEA with 12 improvements. With that rollover agreement now about to expire, regular meetings have been taking place to discuss the clauses that our members in disability want in the next agreement. We will apply for a supported bargaining authorisation for those 22 employers committed to being employers of choice, and hope this will pass through the FWC uncontested and enable bargaining soon.
As a priority, the AEU continues its work to ensure members are on the correct agreements and do not lose their above-award wages and conditions. This recent success in the disability sector is a huge win for AEU members.
