Fair Work Act 2009
| Fair Work Act 2009 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Parliament of Australia | |
| Date commenced | 1 July 2009 |
| Introduced by | Rudd Government |
| Related legislation | |
|
Industrial Relations Act 1988 Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005 |
|
Industrial Relations Act 1988
The Fair Work Act 2009 is an Australian law passed by the Rudd Government after coming into power in 2007 to reform the industrial relations system in Australia. It replaced the previous Howard Government's WorkChoices legislation. It started operation on 1 July 2009.
Collective bargaining regulates the terms under which employers hire employees and the future treatment of future employees. Collective bargaining is a mechanism which allows employees, employers and representation parties to express their objectives with respect to work.
On 1 July 2010, the new bargaining arrangements under the Fair Work Act became operational. Contrary to the individual arrangements that were dominant under the previous coalition Work Choices legislation, the new regulations put a stronger emphasis on enterprise based bargaining with the removal of individual Australian Workplace Agreements. The Act continues to outlaw pattern bargaining and removes the distinction between union and non-union agreements.
Good-faith bargaining, in which each party 'makes a sincere effort' in negotiations, is at the core of the Fair Work Act.
The Fair Work Act sets out what is meant by good-faith bargaining: attending, and participating in, meetings at reasonable times; disclosing relevant information (other than confidential or commercially sensitive information) in a timely manner; responding to proposals made by other bargaining representatives for the agreement in a timely manner; giving genuine consideration to the proposals of other bargaining representatives for the agreement, and giving reasons for the bargaining representative's responses to those proposals; refraining from capricious or unfair conduct that undermines freedom of association or collective bargaining; and recognizing and bargaining with the other bargaining representatives for the agreement.
Parties may seek bargaining orders from FWC if they believe the other party has failed to comply with these good-faith bargaining obligations. Good faith bargaining does not require a bargaining representative to make concessions during bargaining for the agreement, nor does it require a bargaining representative to reach agreement on the terms that are to be included in the agreement.
According to the Act, if one or more of the bargaining parties does not meet the good-faith requirements, the concerned party should first provide the party allegedly not bargaining in good faith with a written notice setting out those concerns to the relevant bargaining representatives, and a reasonable time within which to respond to those concerns. However, Section 229 of the Act states it may not be necessary to comply with the notice requirements should the Fair Work Commission be 'satisfied that it is appropriate in all the circumstances to do so'.
...
Wikipedia