Court strikes down award limits on union delegates
Court strikes down award limits on union delegates
A Full Federal Court has ruled the Fair Work Commission (FWC) unlawfully narrowed workplace delegate rights in modern awards, ordering it to redo the award terms.The Federal Court found the FWC made three jurisdictional errors in varying modern awards to include a workplace delegates’ rights term.The court found the FWC impermissibly confined delegates’ representation rights to employees of the delegate’s employer, narrowed the statutory communication right and imposed absolute constraints that could unlawfully restrict the reasonable exercise of delegates’ rights.The ruling has sparked industry backlash, with Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association (AREEA) chief executive Steve Knott saying workers’ rights have been extended to engage with workplace delegates on the employer’s time and resources, provided only that they are eligible to be members of that union.“The laws create unprecedented new powers for unions, risk turning employees into de-facto union organisers, and apply across all workplaces, including non-union sites with no enterprise agreements,” he said.“ decision materially expands the scope of workplace delegate rights. It extends the right of workplace delegates, paid for by employers, to communicate with contractors and labour hire employees working at an enterprise, regardless of whether those workers are union members.”Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) chief executive Tania Constable has called the decision an “over-reach of union power”.“Today’s decision by the Full Federal Court to overturn the FWC’s orders that placed reasonable limits on the exercise of union delegate powers confirms that unions will continue to push for expanded powers which absolve union delegates of their obligations as employees and interfere with the normal performance of work,” she said.“The decision shows that the Federal Government’s Closing Loopholes legislation gives unions significantly more power than what the independent umpire determined was a fair and reasonable balance.“Australian mining companies are already feeling unprecedented cost pressures, including from industrial relations changes, mounting energy prices, lengthy and costly project approval delays and increased royalties – driving investment offshore to low-cost jurisdictions with poor environmental and emissions standards.”The MCA says it will work with other affected industries to closely review the decision and its implications and take further action as appropriate.
