INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES AND NEGOTIATIONS - …€¦ · Web viewIN CONFIDENCE. SHORTEN QTB. Category – W04. INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES AND NEGOTIATIONS. Vast majority of enterprise agreements

IN CONFIDENCE

SHORTEN QTB

Category – W04

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES AND NEGOTIATIONS1. Vast majority of enterprise agreements are made without any industrial action at all.

o June 2012 quarter, almost 2200 new enterprise agreements were approved, and only 53 industrial disputes occurred.

o Despite quarterly fluctuations in data – industrial disputation continues to trend downwards – from the highs seen during the Howard years.

2. Note that State Liberal Government disputes with their own workers account for vast majority of increase in last quarter

o Of working days lost during June Q 2012 – more than two-thirds (68%) of were in the education and training, and health care and social assistance sectors.

3. Last Liberal Government resided over much higher rates of industrial disputation

o When the opposition talks about increases over the year to June 2012 and says industrial action is out of control, they should think about:

Labor Year to June Q 2012 28.8 working days lost per 1000 employees

Howard Year to Sept Q 2000 83.4 WDL/000E 2.9 times higher

Howard Year to Sept Q 2004 57.8 WDL/000E 2.0 times higher

o ABS data also confirms average working days lost under Liberals was much higher than under us – Under Fair Work its about 1/3 of the rate of the Libs.

Howard March 1996 – December 2007 Quarterly average of 13.7 days lost

Labor March 2008 – June 2012 Quarterly average of 4.7 days lost

Contact Officer: Phone: Date Created: 25/1/12 Date Updated: 19/9/12

IN CONFIDENCEPage 1

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IN CONFIDENCE

SHORTEN QTB

Category – WFP-1

Fact Pack Data 1 – Industrial Dispute6 Points

1) There can be significant variation from quarter to quarter in industrial disputes.But the overall trend in industrial disputation is continuing to be strongly downwards under Fair Work Act.

o The quarterly dispute rate increased from 6.5 WDL/00E in the June quarter 2011 to 10.1 WDL/000E in the September quarter 2011. (53% increase in the quarter).

o The Coal mining industry had the highest number or working days lost (155.8 WDL/000E) for the September quarter 2011.

o New South Wales had 16.8 WDL/000E for the quarter (well above the national average of 10.1 WDL/000).

o In the September quarter 2011, 1912 new agreements were approved but only 66 disputes occurred in that quarter. This shows that overwhelmingly, agreements are being reached without any recourse to industrial action.

Contact Officer: Lisa Berry

Phone: 02 6240 9521Mob:

Date Created: 03/02/12

Date Updated:

IN CONFIDENCEPage 1

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IN CONFIDENCE

SHORTEN QTB

Category – WFP-1

Background

- This quarter (Sep 2011)

Last quarter(Jun 2011)

% Change Latest quarter with a higher number

Working days lost (WDL)

101300 WDL 66200 WDL 53.0% Jun 2004

(154200 WDL)

WDL per thousand employees

(WDL/000E)

10.1 WDL/000E 6.5 WDL/000E 55.4% Sep 2004

(11.3 WDL/000E)

Source: ABS Industrial Disputes, Sep 2011.

Year to Sep 2011 Year to Sep 2010 % Change

21.3 WDL/000E 15.9 WDL/000E 25.4%

Source: ABS Industrial Disputes, Sep 2011.

Contact Officer: Lisa Berry Phone: 02 6240 9521 Mob:

Date Created: 03/02/12 Date Updated:

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IN CONFIDENCEPage 2

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ABS Industrial Dispute figures – June quarter 2012

Key Points

The latest working days lost per thousand employees figure for the June quarter 2012 was 9.9 working days lost per thousand employees up from 3.5 working days lost per thousand employees in the March quarter 2012.

Industrial disputes data can vary significantly from quarter to quarter. Despite the increase over the June quarter 2012, the long term downward trend in industrial disputation remains.

The overwhelming majority (68%) of working days lost (or 67,800 working days lost) were in the education and training, and health care and social assistance industries in the June quarter 2012. Around 20,000 Victorian teachers stopped work for 24 hours in early June 2012. We also know that NSW public sector teachers held work stoppage on various occasions in the June quarter 2012. It is likely that the Victorian and NSA teachers’ industrial action against the state governments explains the increase in the June quarter disputes.

The independent Fair Work Act Review found that “the number of days lost to industrial action under the FW Act has remained within the band of historically low levels”.

Latest Data

The industrial dispute rate for the June quarter 2012 stood at 9.9 working days lost per thousand employees, up from 3.5 working days lost per thousand employees in the March quarter 2012.

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Table 1: Industrial disputes over the last five quarters

Quarter Jun 11 Sept 11 Dec 11 Mar 12 Jun 12

Strike rate (WDL/000E)

6.5 10.1 5.3 3.5 9.9

Change from previous quarter (per cent)

+225.0 +55.4 -47.5 -34.0 +182.9

Over the year to the June quarter 2012, the industrial dispute rate was 28.8 working days lost per thousand employees compared with 25.4 working days lost per thousand employees over the year to the March quarter 2012.

High numbers of working days lost were driven by large disputes in the Education and training and Health care and social assistance industries in June quarter 2012 and September quarter 2011. The combined Education and training and Health care and social assistance industries accounted for 67,800 (67%) of the total number or working days lost in the June quarter 2012.

Chart 1: Quarterly dispute rate in Australia – Working days lost per thousand employees (WDL/000E)

Source: ABS Industrial Disputes, Australia (Cat. No, 6321.0.55.001)

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Table 2: Industrial disputes over the past three workplace relations regimes

- Quarterly average working days lost per thousand employees

Quarterly average working days lost (000)

Workplace Relations Act (March quarter 1996 to March quarter 2006)

15.6 118.0

Work Choices (June quarter 2006 to the June quarter 2009)

3.4 31.4

Fair Work Act (September quarter 2009 to the June quarter 2012)

4.8 48.3

Source: ABS Industrial Disputes (Cat. No, 6321.0.55.001)

Table 3: Industrial disputes over the past two Governments

Quarterly average working days lost per thousand employees


Coalition Government (March quarter 1996 to the December quarter 2007)

13.7 104.0

Labour Government (March quarter 2008 to the June quarter 2012)

4.7 46.4


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ABS Industrial Dispute figures – March quarter 2012

Key Points

The latest working days lost per thousand employees figure for the March quarter 2012 was 3.5 working days lost per thousand employees, down from 5.3 working days lost per thousand employees in the December quarter 2011. Industrial dispute rates have now fallen in two successive quarters.

Industrial disputes data can vary significantly from quarter to quarter, but the long term downward trend in industrial disputation remains despite quarterly fluctuations.

There were 35800 working days lost due to industrial disputation in the March quarter 2012, a decrease from 54300 in the December quarter 2011

Overwhelmingly employers and employees are getting on with the business of bargaining under the Fair Work Act. Around 2100 new agreements were approved in the March quarter 2012, but only 43 disputes occurred in that quarter. The vast majority of enterprise agreements are made without any industrial action at all.

Additional Data

Over the year to the March quarter 2012, the industrial dispute rate was 25.4 working days lost per thousand employees compared with 23.9 working days lost per thousand employees over the year to the December quarter 2011.

The Coal Mining accounted for 15400 working days lost, 43.0 per cent of the total number of in the March quarter 2011.

In the March quarter 2012, Victoria accounted for 12900 working days lost, 12.9 per cent of the national number.

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Table 1: Industrial disputes over the past three workplace relations regimes

- Quarterly average working days lost per thousand employees


Workplace Relations Act (March quarter 1996 to the March quarter 2006)

15.6 118.0


3.4 31.4

Fair Work Act (September quarter 2009 to the March quarter 2012)

4.4 43.4


Table 2: Industrial disputes over the past two Governments

Quarterly average working days lost per thousand employees



13.7 104.0

Labour Government (March quarter 2008 to the March quarter 2012)

4.4 43.1


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Chart 1: Quarterly dispute rate in Australia – Working days lost per thousand employees (WDL/000E) March quarter 1996 – December quarter 2011

Source: ABS Industrial Disputes, Australia (Cat. No, 6321.0.55.001)

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Sent: Thursday, 8 March 2012 4:44 PM

Subject: RE: Media query re industrial disputes data

Please find the following responses to the questions you forwarded to us.

1) How does the Minister Interpret this result?

Industrial dispute data fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter. At the moment, the latest quarterly figure at 5.3 days lost per 1000 employees in the December quarter 2011 was less than the previous quarter (at 10.1).

It is true that the number of days lost per thousand employees in 2011 (at 241.5) was larger than that in 2010 (at 126.6). But the overall trend is continuing to be strongly downwards.

2) What does the Minister attribute the increase to?

We know some industrial disputes have drawn media attention in the recent quarters of 2011, such as Qantas, our ports and State public sector disputes.

In terms of the overall year to year data, in 2011 there was marked increase in the number of expiring agreements in comparison to 2010. In 2011, 8335 agreements expired, as opposed to 5133 in 2010. The increased level of bargaining activity in 2011 has contributed to the different levels of disputation, but this short term comparison misses the big picture that industrial disputes have been trending down strongly over time.

3) Does the Minister think this has had an impact on productivity?

Industrial disputes cause interruption to production and therefore will have an impact on multifactor productivity due to capital sitting idle. But this impact has been coming down over time since industrial disputes has been trending down. The vast majority of enterprise agreements are made without any industrial action at all.

o There are currently 22731 agreements covering 2.4 million employers (as at 30 September 2011 – the latest available data).

o In the December quarter 2011, 1932 new agreements were approved but only 74 disputes occurred in that quarter. This shows that overwhelmingly, agreements are being reached without any recourse to industrial action.

Happy to discuss.

Thanks.

Ph: Mob: Fax

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Industrial DisputesContact: Alison Morehead (GM) 02 6121 7640

Lisa Berry (BM) 02 6240 9521

Key talking points:

We welcome the fall in industrial disputes in the December quarter 2011.o The quarterly dispute rate decreased from 10.1 WDL/000E in the September quarter 2011 to

5.3 WDL/000E in the December quarter 2011. (47.5% decrease on the previous quarter)o We know some industrial disputes have drawn media attention in the December quarter

2011, such as Qantas our ports and State public sector disputes. There can be significant variation from quarter to quarter in industrial disputes. But the

overall trend in industrial disputation is continuing to be strongly downwards under Fair Work Act.

The vast majority of enterprise agreements are made without any industrial action at all.

o There are currently 22731 agreements covering 2.4 million employees (as at 30 September 2011 – the latest available data)

o In the December quarter 2011, 1932 new agreements were approved but only 74 disputes occurred in that quarter. This shows that overwhelmingly, agreements are being reached without any recourse to industrial action.

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1

Industrial disputes data

Recent quarters – quarterly

This quarter (Dec 2011)

This quarter (Sep 2011)

% Change Latest quarter with a higher number


54,300 WDL 101 300 WDL -46.4% Jun 2004

(154 200 WDL)


(WDL/000E)

5.3 WDL/000E 10.1 WDL/000E -47.5% Sep 2004

(11.3 WDL/000E)

Source: ABS Industrial Disputes, Australia (Cat. No. 6321.0.55.001)

Recent quarters - annual

Year to Dec 2011 Year to Dec 2010 % Change

23.9 WDL/000E 12.8 WDL/000E 86.7%


Chart 1: Quarterly working days lost per 1000 employees (WDL/000E) due to industrial disputes 1996-2011


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2

Industrial disputes over the past three workplace relations regimes

- Average working days lost per thousand employees

Average working days lost (000)


15.6 118.0


3.4 31.4

Fair Work Act (September quarter 2009 to the December quarter 2011)

4.5 44.2


Industrial disputes over the past two Governments




13.7 104.0

Labour Government (March quarter 2008 to the December quarter 2011)

4.5 43.6


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Lisa Berry (BM) 02 6240 9521

Key talking points:

We welcome the fall in industrial disputes in the March quarter 2012.o The quarterly dispute rate decreased from 5.3 WDL/000E in the December quarter 2011 to 3.5

WDL/000E in the March quarter 2012. (34% decrease on the previous quarter).o Industrial dispute rates have now fallen in two successive quarters.

There can be significant variation from quarter to quarter in industrial disputes. But the overall trend in industrial disputation is continuing to be strongly downwards under Fair Work Act.

The vast majority of enterprise agreements are made without any industrial action at all.o There are currently 22457 agreements covering 2.5 million employees (as at 30 December

2011 – the latest available data).o In the March quarter 2012, around 2100 new agreements were approved but only 43 disputes

occurred in that quarter. This shows that overwhelmingly, agreements are being reached without any recourse to industrial action.

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1



- This quarter (March 2012)

This quarter (Dec 2011)

% Change


35,800 WDL 54,300 WDL -34.1%


(WDL/000E)

3.5 WDL/000E 5.3 WDL/000E -34.0%



Year to Mar 2012 Year to Mar 2011 % Change

25.4 WDL/000E 11.8 WDL/000E 115.3%


Chart 1: Quarterly working days lost per 1000 employees (WDL/000E) due to industrial disputes March quarter 1996-March quarter 2012


182





15.6 118.0


3.4 31.4

Fair Work Act (September quarter 2009 to the March quarter 2012)

4.4 43.4






13.7 104.0

Labour Government (March quarter 2008 to the March quarter 2011)

4.4 43.1


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Lisa Berry (BM) 02 6240 9521

Key talking points:

Industrial disputes rose in the June quarter 2012.o The quarterly dispute rate increased from 3.5 WDL/000E in the March quarter 2012 to 9.9

WDL/000E in the June quarter 2012. (183% increase on the previous quarter) There can be significant variation from quarter to quarter in industrial disputes. But the

overall trend in industrial disputation is continuing to be strongly downwards under Fair Work Act.

The vast majority of enterprise agreements are made without any industrial action at all.

o There are currently 22913 agreements covering 2.44 million employees (as at 31 March 2012 – the latest available data)

o In the March quarter 2012, around 2105 new agreements were approved but only 43 disputes occurred in that quarter. This shows that overwhelmingly, agreements are being reached without any recourse to industrial action.

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This quarter (March 2012)

Last quarter (March 2012)

% Change


101,700 WDL 35,800 WDL +184.1%


(WDL/000E)

9.9 WDL/000E 3.5 WDL/000E +182.9%



Year to June 2012 Year to June 2011

% Change

28.8 WDL/000E 15.9 WDL/000E +81.1%


Chart 1: Quarterly working days lost per 1000 employees (WDL/000E) due to industrial disputes June quarter 1985 to June quarter 2012


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2


Average working days lost per thousand employees



15.6 118.0


3.4 31.4

Fair Work Act (September quarter 2009 to the June quarter 2012)

4.7 48.3



Average working days lost per thousand employees



13.7 104.0

Labour Government (March quarter 2008 to the June quarter 2012)

4.7 46.4


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Unclassified

BriefingFor Information

BR12-001249To Minister ShortenCC Parliamentary Secretary CollinsSubject ABS Industrial Disputes June Quarter 2012Purpose To brief you on the ABS Industrial Disputes data for the June quarter 2012Urgency N/A

Recommendations

That you

Note the contents of this brief..............................................................................................................noted

Signature:.....................................................................................................................................................

Contact Officer

Overall Results

The rate of industrial disputes for the December quarter 2011 stood at 5.3 working days lost per thousand employees (WDL/000E), down from 10.1 WDL/000E in the September quarter 2011.

Over the year to the December quarter 2011, the industrial dispute rate was 23.9 WDL/000E compared with 21.3 WDL/000E over the year to the September quarter 2011.

The dispute rate for the last five quarters is as follows:

Quarter Dec 10(WDL/000E)

Mar 11(WDL/000E)

Jun 11(WDL/000E)

Sept 11(WDL/000E)

Dec 11(WDL/000E)

Strike rate 2.7 2.0 6.5 10.1 5.3Change from previous quarter ( per cent)

-42.6 -25.9 +225.0 +55.4 -47.5

In the December quarter 2011, there were 54300 working days lost (WDL) in 74 disputes, compared with 101300 WDL in 66 disputes in the September quarter 2011.

In general however, industrial disputation as measured by WDL/000E has been trending downwards despite quarterly fluctuations (see Attachment A).

The latest annual working days lost per thousand employees figure (WDL/000E) for the December quarter 2011 (23.9), while higher than recent quarters, remains below the annual result of 24.5 WDL/000E in the March quarter 2006 (the highest recent result).

Jurisdiction

By jurisdiction, the federal system accounted for the highest amount of WDL (34700 or 63.9 per cent). The state system accounted 17400 WDL or 32.0 per cent, and 2200 WDL (4.1 per cent) were non-enterprise bargaining related. (see Attachment B).

Unclassified

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Unclassified

Industry and State

The Education and training and Health care and social assistance industries accounted for 16600 (30.6 per cent) working days lost in the December quarter 2011. Other Manufacturing industry had the highest number of WDL/000E (8.4) for the December quarter 2011.

By state, Queensland had the highest number of WDL (22100 or 40.7 per cent) followed by New South Wales with 19300 WDL (35.5 per cent) for the December quarter 2011. Queensland had the highest number of WDL/000E at 10.6 for the December quarter 2011.

Background Information

In total, there were 1418 agreements that expired in the September quarter 2011 affecting a little over 212000 employees. Nearly 30 per cent of agreements expiring in the September quarter 2011 were in the construction industry, and 23 per cent were in the manufacturing industry (see Attachment C for further information).

The Department monitors industrial disputes on an ongoing basis. The bulk of reported industrial disputes during the December quarter 2011 occurred in the private sector with the waterfront companies (i.e. Patrick Stevedoring, POAGS and DP world) drawing noticeable media coverage.

It is likely that the high level of working days lost in the Education and training sector is due to industrial action by teachers, particularly New South Wales. This action by teachers would also have heavily impacted on the figures for New South Wales as a whole.

From 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011, there were 756 Protected Action Ballot (PAB) applications, down from 982 applications in total for the 2009-10 financial year (see Attachment E).

Over the year to end December 2011 there were 1017 PAB applications up from 757 in the 2010 calendar year.

During the December quarter 2011 there were 340 PAB applications, up from 188 for the December quarter 2010.

Attachments

Attachment A Quarterly dispute rate in Australia 1990 to 2011

Attachment B Cause of Dispute by Jurisdiction for the December quarter 2011

Attachment E Protected Action Ballot (PAB) Applications

Unclassified

24

Unclassified

BR12-001249Attachment A

Chart 1: Quarterly dispute rates in Australian Government

Quarterly dispute rate in AustraliaWorking days lost per thousand employees (WDSL/000E)

December quarter 1990 – December quarter 2011

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Attachment B

Table 1: Cause of dispute by jurisdiction for the December quarter 2011

Enterprise bargaining (EB) related - State jurisdiction

- Number of disputesNo.

Employees involved‘000

Working days lost‘000

Remuneration 1 np npEmployment conditions 5 Np NpHours of work - - -Leave provisions - - -Other conditions 5 Np NpJob security - - -Other EB related - - -Total 6 35.3 17.4

Enterprise bargaining (EB) related - Federal jurisdiction




Remuneration 18 1.9 6.3Employment conditions 36 12.4 28.4Hours of work - - -Leave provisions - - -Other conditions 36 12.4 28.4Job security - - -Other EB related - - -Total 54 14.3 34.7

Non-EB related - Jurisdiction not applicable




Remuneration - - -Employment conditions - - -Health and safety 4 Np NpJob Security 1 Np NpManagerial policy 6 0.5 0.5Union issues 3 1.1 1.3Other non-EB related - - -Total 14 2.1 2.2

- Nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)Np Not available for publication

Unclassified

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Attachment E

Protected Action Ballot (PAB) Applications

From 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011, there were 756 PAB applications, down from 982 applications in total for the 2009-10 financial year.

Over the year to end December 2011 there were 1017 PAB applications, up from 757 in the 2010 calendar year.

During the December quarter 2011 there were 340 PAB applications, up from 188 for the December quarter 2010.

Chart 4: Monthly number of Applications for orders for protected action ballots to be held July 2009 to September 2011

The FW Act commenced on 1 July 2009 – Applications for protected action ballots to be held under s.437 of the FW Act.

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Unclassified


BR12-003321

To: Minister Shorten

Subject: ABS Industrial Disputes March Quarter 2012

Purpose: To brief you on the ABS Industrial Disputes data for the March quarter 2012

Urgency: For Information

Recommendations

That you


Signature:.....................................................................................................................................................

Contact Officer

Key Points

The rate of industrial disputes for the March quarter 2012 stood at 3.5 working days lost per thousand employees (WDL/000E), down from 5.3 WDL/000E in the December quarter 2011.

Table 1: The dispute rate for the last five quarters

Quarter Mar 11 Jun 11 Sept 11 Dec 11 Mar 12

Quarterly Strike rate (WDL/000E)

2.0 6.5 10.1 5.3 3.5

Change from previous quarter ( per cent)

-25.9 +225.0 +55.4 -47.5 -34.0

In the March quarter 2012, there were 35800 working days lost (WDL) in 43 disputes, compared with 54300 WDL in 74 disputes in the December quarter 2011.

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Unclassified

Over the year to the March quarter 2012, the annual industrial dispute rate was 25.4 WDL/000E complared with 23.9 WDL/000E over the year to the December quarter 2011.o While the annual dispute rate for the March quarter is higher than recent quarters, it remains

below the annual result of 26.4 WDL/000E in the December quarter 2005 (the highest recent result).

In general however, industrial disputation as measured by WDL/000E has been trending downwards despite quarterly fluctuations (see Attachment A). This trend continues under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Jurisdiction

By jurisdiction, the federal system accounted for the majority of working days lost (34400 or 96.1 per cent) (see Attachment B). This reflects the fact that the federal system now covers most employees.

Industry and State

The Coal Mining industry accounted for 15400 (43.0 per cent) working days lost in the March quarter 2012.

Coal Mining industry had the highest number of WDL/000E (286.9) for the March quarter 2012. By state, Victoria had the highest number of WDL (12900 or 36.0 per cent) followed by New South

Wales with 2900 WDL (8.1 per cent) for the March quarter 2012. Victoria also had the highest number of WDL/000E at 5.1 for the March quarter 2012.


Industrial action at coal mines in the Bowen Basin (BHP) and Port Kembla (Port Kembla Coal) most likely explains the high level of working days lost in the Coal Mining industry. These disputes drew considerable media coverage.

The high number of working days lost in Victoria is probably due to disputes in the public sector (e.g. nurses and teachers) and also the manufacturing industry (e.g. BlueScope, Sigma, Schweppes).

During the March quarter 2012 there were 142 Protected Action Ballet applications, down from 340 in the December quarter 2011, but up slightly from 134 for the March quarter 2011.

o In 2010-11, there were 756 applications, down from 982 applications in total for the 2009-10 financial year (see Attachment D).

Attachments


Attachment B Cause of Dispute by Jurisdiction for the March quarter 2012

Attachment D Protected Action Ballot (PAB) Applications

Unclassified

35

Unclassified

Chart 1: Quarterly dispute rate in Australia

BR12-003321

Attachment A

Unclassified36

Unclassified

Attachment BTable 2: Cause of dispute by jurisdiction for the March quarter 2011Enterprise bargaining (EB) related - State jurisdiction




Remuneration np np npEmployment conditions - - -Hours of work - - -Leave provisions - - -Other conditions - - -Job security - - -Other EB related - - -Total np np npEnterprise bargaining (EB) related Federal jurisdiction




Remuneration 6 0.3 0.5Employment conditions 24 4.9 33.8Hours of work - - -Leave provisions - - -Other conditions 24 4.9 33.8Job security - - -Other EB related - - -Total 30 5.2 34.4Non-EB related - Jurisdiction not relevant




Remuneration 1 np npEmployment conditions 1 np npHealth and safety 4 0.4 0.4Job Security 1 np npManagerial policy 2 np npUnion issues 3 np npOther non-EB related - - -Total np np np

- Nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)np Not available for publication

37

Unclassified

Unclassified

Attachment D


From 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011, there were 756 PAB applications, down from 982 applications in total for the 2009-10 financial year.

Over the year to end December 2011 there were 1017 PAB applications, up from 757 in the 2010 calendar year.

During the March quarter 2012 there were 142 PAB applications, down from 340 in the December quarter 2011, but up from 134 for the March quarter 2011.

Chart 4: Monthly number of Applications for orders for protected action ballots to be held July 2009 to March 2012


Under the FW Act protected industrial action can only be taken by employees:

In pursuit of a new enterprise agreement after an existing agreement has expired Who have authorised that action in a secret ballot, and Who are genuinely trying to reach an agreement with an employer.

As per Section 437 (1) of the Fair Work Act, a bargaining representative who will be covered by a proposed enterprise agreement, or 2 or more such bargaining representatives (acting jointly), may apply to Fair Work Australia for a protected action ballot order requiring a protected action ballot (PAB) to be conducted to determine whether employees wish to engage in particular protected industrial action for the agreement.

The number of PABs sought in a particular period is cyclical and depends on the number of agreements that expire and come up for renegotiation. It is not possible to predict the extent to which bargaining representatives will apply for PAB orders and whether industrial action will actually follow a successful ballot.

Unclassified

For Official Use Only

40



BR12-004575To Minister ShortenSubject ABS Industrial Disputes June Quarter 2012Purpose To brief you on the ABS Industrial Disputes data for the June quarter 2012Urgency For Information

Recommendations

That you


Signature:.....................................................................................................................................................

Contact Officer

Key Points

The rate of industrial disputes for the June quarter 2012 stood at 9.9 working days lost per thousand employees (WDL/000E), up from 3.5 WDL/000E in the March quarter 2012.

Table 1: The dispute rate for the last five quarters

Quarter Jun 11 Sept 11 Dec 11 Mar 12 Jun 12

Quarterly Strike rate (WDL/000E) 6.5 10.1 5.3 3.5 9.9

Change from previous quarter ( per cent) +225.0 +55.4 -47.5 -34.0 +182.9

In the June quarter 2012, there were 101700 working days lost (WDL) in 53 disputes, compared with 35800 WDL in 43 disputes in the March quarter 2012.

Over the year to the June quarter 2012, the annual disputation rate was 28.8 WDL/000E compared with 25.4 WDL/000E over the year to the March quarter 2012. This is the highest annual result since June quarter 2005 (28.8 WDL/000E).o While the annual dispute rate for the June quarter is higher than recent quarters, it remains below

the annual result of 66.9 WDL/000E in the June quarter 2004 (the highest recent result). Over the year to June quarter 2012 total working days lost were 293100, up from 257600 for the year

to March quarter 2012. In general however, industrial disputation as measured by WDL/000E has been trending downwards

despite quarterly fluctuations (see Attachment A). This trend continues under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Jurisdiction

Among the 101700 working days lost, around a half (50600 days) were due to enterprise bargaining related reasons and were under the federal jurisdiction (see Attachment B).


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Industry and State

The combined Education and training and Health care and social assistance industries accounted for 67800 (66.7 per cent) of the total number of working days lost in the June quarter 2012.

The Coal Mining industry had the highest number of WDL/000E (152.7) in the June quarter and accounted for 9600 (9.4 per cent) working days lost over the same period.

By state, for the June quarter, New South Wales had the highest number of WDL at 50100 or 49.3 per cent (followed by Queensland at 26200 WDL or 25.8 per cent) and the highest number of WDL/000E at 15.5 over the same period.


The independent Fair Work Act Review found that ‘the number of days lost to industrial action under the FW Act has remained within the band of historically low levels’.

There was a large increase in working days lost due to industrial disputation in the June quarter 2012. However the combined Education and training and Health care and social assistance industries accounted for 67800 (67 per cent) of the total number of working days lost in the June quarter 2012. This is likely due to the industrial action of state public sector employees.

Historical data shows that when there are more agreements expiring, industrial disputes tend to increase.

These increased expiring agreements are expected to have a larger impact on the industrial dispute figures in later quarters than in the June quarter.

During the June quarter 2012 there were 214 Protected Action Ballot applications, up from 142 in the March quarter 2012, but down from 230 for the June quarter 2011 (see Attachment D).

Attachments


Attachment B Cause of Dispute by Jurisdiction for the June quarter 2012

Attachment D Protected Action Ballot (PAB) Applications


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BR12-003321Attachment A

Chart 1: Quarterly dispute rate in Australia


46


Attachment BTable 2: Cause of dispute by jurisdiction for the June quarter 2012

Enterprise bargaining (EB) related - State jurisdiction




Remuneration np np npEmployment conditions - - -Hours of work - - -Leave provisions - - -Other conditions - - -Job security - - -Other EB related - - -Total np np np

Enterprise bargaining (EB) related Federal jurisdiction




Remuneration 7 1.9 7.1Employment conditions 27 26.3 43.5Hours of work - - -Leave provisions - - -Other conditions 27 26.3 43.5Job security - - -Other EB related - - -Total 34 28.1 50.6

Non-EB related - Jurisdiction not relevant




Remuneration 1 np npEmployment conditions - - -Health and safety 4 1.0 1.9Job Security 2 np npManagerial policy 6 0.5 0.4Union issues 3 np npOther non-EB related 3 3.7 45.4Total 19 41.8 51.1

- Nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)np Not available for publication


47


Attachment D


During the June quarter 2012 there were 214 PAB applications, up from 142 in the March quarter 2012, but down from 230 for the June quarter 2011.

Over 2011-12 there were 1009 PAB applications, up from 756 applications in total for the 2010-11 financial year.

Chart 4: Monthly number of Applications for orders for protected action ballots to be held October 2009 to June 2012


Under the FW Act protected industrial action can only be taken by employees:

In pursuit of a new enterprise agreement after an existing agreement has expired Who have authorised that action in a secret ballot, and Who are genuinely trying to reach an agreement with an employer.

As per Section 437 (1) of the Fair Work Act, a bargaining representative who will be covered by a proposed enterprise agreement, or 2 or more such bargaining representatives (acting jointly), may apply to Fair Work Australia for a protected action ballot order requiring a PAB to be conducted to determine whether employees wish to engage in particular protected industrial action for the agreement.

The number of PABs sought in a particular period is cyclical and depends on the number of agreements that expire and come up for renegotiation. It is not possible to predict the extent to which bargaining representatives will apply for PAB orders and whether industrial action will actually follow a successful ballot.


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INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES AND NEGOTIATIONS - …€¦ · Web viewIN CONFIDENCE. SHORTEN QTB. Category – W04. INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES AND NEGOTIATIONS. Vast majority of enterprise agreements