Enterprise bargaining

Enterprise bargaining is wage and working conditions being negotiated at the level of the individual organisations, usually in Australia. Once established, they are legally binding on employers and employees. An Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) consists of a collective industrial agreement between either an employer and a trade union acting on behalf of employees or an employer and employees acting for themselves.

On the one hand, collective agreements, at least in principle, benefit employers, as they allow for improved "flexibility" in such areas as ordinary hours, flat rates of hourly pay, and performance-related conditions. On the other hand, collective agreements benefit workers, as they usually provide higher pay, bonuses, additional leave and enhanced entitlements (such as redundancy pay) than an award does.

Unlike awards, which provide similar standards for all workers in the entire industry covered by a specific award, collective agreements usually apply only to workers for one employer. However, a short-term collaborative agreement (for example, on a building-site) occasionally yields a multi-employer/employee agreement.

Parties endorse proposed enterprise bargaining agreements between themselves (in the case of employees the matter goes to a vote). Fair Work Australia then assess them for approval. (Under the Fair Work Act 2009, agreements now^[update] renamed "enterprise agreements" and are lodged with Fair Work Australia to assess entitlements against the modern award and be checked for breaches of the Act.)

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