Creating effective employment relations

Recently Patricks and the MUA reached an in principle agreement that delivered productivity at the company's container terminals in return for pay raises for 1200 stevedores, to be phased in over a four to five year period.

The agreement was achieved after a year of negotiations and some industrial action. One interesting aspect of the agreement was the decision by the parties to establish committees to address productivity and safety issues so that they did not become the source of future disputation.

The managing director of Asciano, which owns Patrick, stated that the agreement would 'ensure productivity on Australian wharves lifts towards global rates' while the union's leader said that he was 'more than confident' that the targets for crane movements and ship turnaround times would be achieved.

For Qantas, there are some parallels with a lengthy dispute in 1981 which was finally settled by the federal tribunal. Sir John Moore, who was President of the tribunal, recommended that Qantas establish a formal consultation council with the unions to foster more effective employment relations and dispute resolution mechanisms, which they did.

In general, the current system of enterprise bargaining is working well but there is a place for arbitration when the parties are not able to resolve their differences through collective bargaining. But there also needs to be the willingness on both sides to seek a settlement and then to rebuild relationships after a long dispute.

This will be a major challenge for Qantas and its unions after arbitration has occurred. The review of the Fair Work Act, foreshadowed by the federal government, will provide an opportunity to establish where and why certain parts of the Act are deficient and need to be changed.