What is an Enterprise Agreement?
An Enterprise Agreement (EA) is a legal document that outlines your wages and conditions of employment. Enterprise Agreements are made between an employer and the organisation’s staff. When staff organise collectively to negotiate the Agreement, it can provide an effective way to equalise the power imbalance that typically exists between employer and employee. The Agreement will cover all staff rather than just one individual.
How do you get an Enterprise Agreement?
If staff would like to move from their individual contracts onto an Enterprise Agreement to collectively bargain wages and conditions, they must sign a Majority Support Petition (MSP). For the petition to be successful, 50% + 1 of all staff that would be covered must sign the petition. Once a majority has been achieved, your employer will be forced by the Fair Work Commission to negotiate with Professionals Australia as your bargaining representative.
To win an MSD, workers must return a majority "yes" vote (>50% of votes).
How can you make sure that your wages and conditions are improved during enterprise bargaining negotiations?
The outcomes of negotiations are determined by the relative negotiating power of the two parties involved in bargaining i.e. union members vs Greencross. The more staff who are union members, the better the outcomes that can be negotiated for all workers. You also get the benefit of having union negotiators who know your industry, your industry award and the rules of bargaining involved in the negotiations.
Who will be covered by a new Enterprise Agreement?
All veterinarians, technicians, vet nurses, practice managers, vet assistants, kennel hands, and receptionists employed by Greencross would be covered under a new EA.
Who decides what will be negotiated?
You do! Union members prepare a Log of Claims listing what they would like to see maintained and improved. The Fair Work Act allows staff to join their union and negotiate as a group of workers, so you have a better chance of improving your wages and conditions. As an individual you have limited power to negotiate improvements to your wages and conditions - especially when your employer can simply refuse to offer any wage or condition improvements and instead hire someone else who will work for less.
What happens if your employer doesn’t agree with your log of claims?
The more union members you have, the greater your ability to compel your employer to accept your claims. The fewer union members you have, the more likely you will not achieve your desired claims.
Where can I sign?
Click
here to sign
OR you can email
[email protected] for a copy of the paper form.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? Raise them confidentially with Professionals Australia. Get in touch with Anna via email or phone.
[email protected] | 0481 794 113
Professionals Australia is the Union for Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians. If you are a vet nurse, practice manager, kennel hand or receptionist, you can sign the petition to support an EBA at Greencross and may choose to appoint Professionals Australia to be your bargaining representative at the table, but we are unable to accept membership requests from these groups of workers. There's a union for every industry and occupation. You can find your relevant union here.