ARTICLE · 13 OCTOBER 2022

Negotiating and drafting enterprise agreements effectively

People + Culture Strategies

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Employers should understand their rights and obligations in bargaining,and draft their enterprise agreements correctly.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

Kirryn West James

Vanessa Yol

With the rise of industrial action among public sector employees in Australia, it is vital that employers understand their rights and obligations during the bargaining process, as well as the importance of drafting enterprise agreements correctly.

A recent dispute in the Fair Work Commission (the "FWC") between the Transport Workers' Union ("TWU") and Transit (NSW) Services ("Transit") shows the importance of drafting an enterprise agreement correctly. The dispute was about whether bus drivers who took part in protected action (by turning off Opal card readers) were eligible to receive a daily allowance provided under the relevant enterprise agreement. Consequently, the dispute was dependent on how the relevant allowance clause in the enterprise agreement should be interpreted.

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