Union and Small Business Representative Agree on Workplace Relations Reform

A woman takes orders in a Burwood Plaza coffee shop, open for take-away items in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 12, 2021. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Australia’s peak union body and representative of small businesses have agreed to cooperate on workplace reform ahead of the Jobs and Skills Summit.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) will work together to simplify and reduce complexities in the industrial relations system for small businesses.

This includes working towards a simpler “better off overall test (BOOT)” and options for multi-employer collective bargaining.

The BOOT is a test the Fair Work Commission uses to ensure that an employee is better off under a new registered agreement than the relevant award.

COSBOA CEO Alexi Boyd said small businesses do not have the same level of resources available to big businesses in terms of lawyers and HR departments.

“The current bargaining system was not built for us. It is not efficient and is too complicated,” she said. “We welcome the opportunity to explore new flexible single or multi-employer options that can be customised to our circumstances.”

Both organisations stated their commitment to working on new workplace arrangements that benefit the owners and employees of small businesses.

“We recognise that the current system is not working for small business,” ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said. “The current enterprise focused system was built for an economy of 30 years ago, it needs to be upgraded and work for the economy of today.”

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke during a press conference in the Mural Hall at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 17, 2020. Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Tony Burke, the minister of workplace relations, welcomed the announcement, describing it as the exact cooperation he is hoping to see at the summit.

“When the concept of multi-employer bargaining was first flagged by the ACTU last week, I leant in saying I was very interested in it,” he told ABC Radio.

“Effectively for both employers and for workers, if you’re in small business right now, you are cut out of any of the benefits of [enterprise] bargaining.”

Willingness to Compromise on Boot Changes

The agreement also encouraged Burke to concede his willingness to compromise on BOOT changes after having a long-time firm stance against changes.

“Up until the summit, I’ve been pretty hardline on the better off overall test. And I took the view that if I was expecting everybody else to come forward with compromises and to try to find a way together at the summit, that I should be willing to do the same,” he said.

However, Burke declined to put forward potential changes that he was willing to yield on.

“For myself, I think if I start to draw lines on that, I think it'll curtail that conversation,” he said, adding that he would endorse changes that received majority support.