Principles and Rights at Work. In particular, the 1998 declaration reaffirmed universal rights to; freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective • bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; • the effective abolition of child labour; • the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. • The underpinning right to free bargaining is set out in Article 4 of C98 as follows; Measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilisation of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organisations and workers' organisations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements. Access to is denied to workers by a number of mechanisms ‘...voluntary negotiation...’ contained within the FW Act including the imposition of the ‘permitted matters’; requirement for individual flexibility arrangements (IFA) which are not negotiated with a union; restrictions placed on workers freely taking industrial action to further their interests; latitude given to to take that employer’s ‘employer response action’ undermines rights to collective bargaining; an inadequate faith worker’s ‘good and the capacity for Fair Work Australia to bargaining’ framework, (“The Tribunal”) suspend or terminate industrial action in certain circumstances. Having regard to the ALPs Forward with Fairness statements and the FW Act objects, it is clear that legislative change has not given full effect to the restoration of workers’ rights. This breaks a significant promise given to the voting public by the ALP in their 2007 election platform and is inconsistent with international obligations. Australia’s Good faith bargaining
Principles and Rights at Work. In particular, the 1998 declaration reaffirmed universal rights to; • freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; • the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; • the effective abolition of child labour; • the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. The underpinning right to free bargaining is set out in Article 4 of C98 as follows; Measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilisation of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organisations and workers' organisations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements. Access to ‘...voluntary negotiation...’ is denied to workers by a number of mechanisms contained within the FW Act including the imposition of ‘permitted matters’; the requirement for individual flexibility arrangements (IFA) which are not negotiated with a union; restrictions placed on workers freely taking industrial action to further their interests; latitude given to employer’s to take ‘employer response action’ that undermines worker’s rights to collective bargaining; an inadequate ‘good faith bargaining’ framework, and the capacity for Fair Work Australia (“The Tribunal”) to suspend or terminate industrial action in certain circumstances. Having regard to the ALPs Forward with Fairness statements and the FW Act objects, it is clear that legislative change has not given full effect to the restoration of workers’ rights. This breaks a significant promise given to the voting public by the ALP in their 2007 election platform and is inconsistent with Australia’s international obligations. Good faith bargaining
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