Reference no: EM132302708 , Length: word count:4000
Assessment task -
Enterprise agreements are the centre piece of the Fair Work Act 2009, such that the processes of bargaining leading to their conclusion figure prominently in its regulatory content. As of September 2018, there were 10,989 Federally-registered enterprise agreements, which covered 30.2 per cent of the Australian workforce, or around 1.89 million employees (Department of Jobs and Small Business, Trends in Federal Enterprise Bargaining Report; September Quarter 2018). One of the reasons behind the favoured position accorded to this type of labour contract is belief that it facilitates productivity growth. This is nowhere better expressed than in the following description provided by the Fair Work Ombudsman (2016, Best Practice Guide Improving Workplace Productivity in Bargaining).
Enterprise bargaining ... can assist in the creation of responsive and flexible enterprises and help to improve productivity and efficiency. Increased productivity can provide higher wages to workers or more secure and satisfying work, higher profits to employers and lower priced goods and services to the public.
This assignment has three purposes. The first is to give you an appreciation of the legal requirements associated with the process of enterprise bargaining. This type of knowledge is important to any human resource manager working in an organisation of some size and complexity, as most apply terms and conditions of employment that have been settled through this process. The second is to provide you with the opportunity to work with the Fair Work Act 2009, so that you might become acquainted with its language and regulatory content. The third is to enable you to engage with one of the key debates surrounding enterprise agreements, in this instance their asserted link with productivity growth.
To these end you are required to answer the following questions:
(1) As prescribed by the Fair Work Act 2009, what legal obligations and entitlements need to be observed when employers and employees (and their unions) engage in enterprise bargaining?
(2) From the wider literature concerning the concept of productivity, what are some of the key problems thought to be associated with measuring labour productivity?
(3) What views do trade unions and employer associations hold towards the link between enterprise bargaining and productivity growth, as asserted in the Fair Work Ombudsman's statement given above?
In addressing these questions you should draw on authoritative sources to support the discussion and arguments being made. What counts as 'authoritative' are peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly texts, as well as statements and reports issued by employer associations, trade unions and public institutions with an interest in employment relations. What is not counted as authoritative are personal opinions and experiences, internet blogs, vanity sites and the like, recognisable by them having no legitimacy in representation or are not subject to public, political or academic review.
Note - Word count should not cross 4000 (excluding 10-15 quality references). Do not provide an executive summary or table of contents. This is not a 'report'. It is an essay that should conform with a standard format of its type (i.e., an introduction, a body and a conclusion).