In an exclusive with the Australian’s Ewin Hannan, it was revealed that the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union has reached a deal with the air-conditioning industry to form the first multi-employer bargaining agreement.
The new agreement will increase wages for air conditioner installers in NSW and the ACT by 26% over the 4 years of the agreement. Workers currently earning $102,000 will earn $133,000 by the end of the agreement. Additionally, the agreement allows for more casual conversions to permanent work, paid union meetings each quarter, re-instated union delegate’s rights and more.
The Australian quotes AMWU National Secretary Steve Murphy’s thoughts on the agreement.
“Races to the bottom don’t work. The best way to compete in order to make sure we all enjoy a decent standard of living … is to have quality, safety, training and efficiencies that we establish and work together to find a solution for. That’s exactly what this agreement does. It sets up a different conversation that is not conflict based, to say that we are all stakeholders in this industry and we want it to have secure good jobs in the future. We also want it to be productive and for bosses to make their profits”
9 employers, with approximately 200 workers, have all signed onto the initial deal and there are 7 more expected to join up. The Australian reports that the HVAC Manufacturing and Installation Association is satisfied that the agreement has resulted in happy medium between the bosses and the union.
This agreement was made possible under the Secure Jobs Better Pay Bill 2022 that was passed under the Albanese Federal Labor government. This allowed for unions to apply for a multi-employer bargaining agreement under the Fair Work Act. This was a big shake-up in Industrial Relations policy allowing the union movement to move away from single enterprise agreements and towards industry bargaining.