Collective bargaining could help aged care workers get a pay rise

The ACTU’s push for this week’s job summit to embrace sector-wide bargaining could be good news for aged care employees. The union is calling for a return to collective bargaining, which means entire sectors can band together to push for higher wages and better conditions. Strike action would be lawful under the arrangement. The ACTU believes the current enterprise bargaining system is overly complicated and has become inaccessible – especially to sectors dominated by smaller businesses, which are often the employers of large numbers of women. Collective bargaining would be fairer, more accessible and simpler, the union claims. Collective bargaining – which can include multi-employer or sector bargaining – would spread the benefits of bargaining to a greater portion of the workforce. Only 14% of the workforce is on an agreement presently, with enterprise bargaining the only option available.

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus (pictured) told the AFR, “The idea that a childcare worker at one childcare centre can negotiate with their employer to get better wages is fanciful and it’s not happening. “One issue is [government] funding, there’s a third party involved that needs to be at the table. The second one is small workplaces. It’s not efficient to be bargaining workplace-by-workplace. It takes time. Most places don’t have HR departments.”

It is unlawful for employees to strike under a multi-employee arrangement, but this year aged care workers synchronised existing protected action for enterprise agreements, effectively taking sector-wide strike action. Sector-wide bargaining is lawful in Germany, Denmark and Sweden.