Negotiation, Bargaining and Advocacy: Business Point of View on Issues

This discussion post provides an analysis of negotiation, bargaining, and advocacy from the perspective of a business. It addresses three contentious issues: the inclusion of a consultation clause in a new enterprise agreement, pay increases, and superannuation guarantee contributions. The analysis examines the business's objectives in relation to these issues, considering the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The business aims to ensure that the consultation process, management obligations, and employee rights do not negatively impact the business's interests. Regarding pay increases, the business seeks to align with previous agreements and adjust for inflation. The business also wants the superannuation guarantee contributions to align with the standard rate. The post references relevant sections of the Fair Work Act and related literature to support its arguments.

Running head: NEGOTIATION, BARGAINING AND ADVOCACY
Negotiation, Bargaining and Advocacy
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NEGOTIATION, BARGAINING AND ADVOCACY
Contents
Three contentious provisions or issues:...........................................................................................2
What business wants in relation to three issues?.............................................................................2
Inclusion of consultation clause in the agreement:......................................................................3
Pay increases:...............................................................................................................................3
Superannuation guarantee contributions:....................................................................................4
References:......................................................................................................................................5

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A brief description of the three provisions around which the entire negotiation and
bargaining revolve will be helpful for an effective understanding of the business point of view
and what it wants from these three issues.
Three contentious provisions or issues:
First bone of contention is related to the inclusion of a clause for consultation or change
management in the new enterprise agreement (s172) to replace the existing agreement. Second
issue is related to the provision of pay increases in the agreement and finally, the third issue is
related to the superannuation guarantee contributions for the employees. Now the objective of
this document is to provide the point of view of business and not that of the union accordingly,
let us explain the objectives of business (management) in related to the three contentious issues
that have stalled finalization of new agreement (s172).
What business wants in relation to three issues?
Firstly, it is important to understand that the relationship between employers and employees in
Australia are governed by the various acts including the Fair Work Act 2009. The Union
working for the employees in the negotiation is operating under the provisions of Fair Work Act
2009 and the Union is allowed to bargain in good faith under section 228 of the act to protect the
interests of the employees. Business (management) must also abide by the provisions of Fair
Work Act 2009 and other legislations as applicable to ensure it does not compromise the
interests of the employees in the process of achieving its own objectives. Accordingly, what the
business wants have been explained keeping in mind the provisions of Fair Work Act 2009
(hereinafter referred to as the act only) (Metcalf, 2018).

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NEGOTIATION, BARGAINING AND ADVOCACY
Sections 21 and 22 of the act have specifically mentioned prohibited behavior by the employers
and organizations respectively. Thus, the business objectives in respect of these three contentious
issues must not be contravening either section 21 or section 22 of the act (Australian Fair Work
Act 2009, 2018).
Inclusion of consultation clause in the agreement:
Both management and union desires to have managing change or consultation clause in the new
agreement (s172) in line with the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2010. However, the
issues in relation to the inclusion of this clause are about the nature of the consultation process,
management obligations and the rights of the workers under the clause. Obviously, the business
wants to ensure that the nature of consultation process, obligations of management and the rights
of the workers must not be detrimental to the interests of the business. However, it is important
to note that the clause in no way should be discriminating against the employees of the business
(s21). The 3 rounds of consultation with the union as desired by the union regarding change is
also something which the bank wants to avoid to ensure a brief consultation process (Creighton,
2018).
Pay increases:
The act requires the employers to make appropriate payment to the employees for their hard
work. Periodical pay increase is a necessary condition that the employers must follow to ensure
that the employees are compensated for the inflation as well as their hard work. In this case it is
clear that the inflation will be 1.9% till 2023 thus, the pay increase must be higher than the rate
of inflation, i.e. 1.9% (Stewart, 2017). The bank wants to keep the pay increase along the line of
pervious EBAs, i.e. 2% to 3% per annum. Thus, the desire of union to increase the pay by 3% to
4% per annum is not acceptable as even with pay increase between 2% and 3% per annum it is

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NEGOTIATION, BARGAINING AND ADVOCACY
possible increase real wages. In case of increased inflation the bank will have to adjust the pay
increase to compensate for high rate of inflation (Wheelwright, 2019).
Superannuation guarantee contributions:
Inclusion of superannuation clause in the new EBA is important and the bank certainly not
oppose to that however, the rate of SG contribution proposed by the union is certainly more than
the standard SG contribution rate of 9.5% (s19(2) of Superannuation Guarantee Act 1992) . The
bank certainly wants the SG contribution to be in line with section 19(2) of SG act 1992 and not
what the union is looking to include in the new agreement, i.e. 10% to 11% (Davis, 2019).

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NEGOTIATION, BARGAINING AND ADVOCACY
References:
2018. Australian Fair Work Act 2009. 7th ed. Sydney, pp.12-37.
Creighton, B., 2018. A Retreat from Individualism? The Fair Work Act 2009 and the Re-
collectivisation of Australian Labour Law. Industrial Law Journal, 43(5), pp.116-145.
Davis, K., 2019. A Critical Analysis of Genuine Redundancyy Cases Under the Fair Work Act
2009 (Cth). SSRN Electronic Journal, 2(2), pp.10-17.
Metcalf, D. (2018). A Fair Day's Wage for a Fair Day's Work? - By Sheila Blackburn. British
Journal Of Industrial Relations, 49(5), 603-605. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2009.00745_2.x
Stewart, A. (2017). Fair Work Australia: The Commission Reborn?. Journal Of Industrial
Relations, 55(7), 563-577. doi: 10.1177/0022185611419600
Wheelwright, K., 2019. Bearing the Economic Loss of Industrial Action: The Payment of
Striking Employees under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Deakin Law Review, 21(5), p.292.