EB11: key terms
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 129 No 2, 28 March 2024, page 8.
Enterprise bargaining (EB): The process through which a new agreement setting out the salaries and working conditions of members is negotiated between the employer and the union representing employees.
Log of claims: The document that sets out the new conditions that members wish to achieve through the negotiations.
Certified agreement: The legally binding document that enforces the agreed conditions secured through the negotiations for three years.
Interest-based bargaining: The strategy through which parties collaborate to find a “win-win” solution to their issues. This strategy focuses on developing mutually beneficial agreements based on the interests of the parties. Understanding why the department is opposed or supportive of certain elements of our claim is important if we are to look at solutions that can meet the needs of us both.
Good faith bargaining: This is effectively a bargaining “code of conduct”. An underlying theme during negotiations for enterprise agreements is the requirement for all parties, including bargaining representatives, to bargain “in good faith”. In respect of enterprise bargaining, this term mandates that the procedural processes used in negotiating agreements are fair to both parties.
The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission sets out the following requirements.
- Attending and participating in bargaining meetings.
- Disclosing relevant information in a timely way.
- Genuinely considering proposals made by other parties.
- Not engaging in capricious or unfair conduct that undermines freedom of association or the collective bargaining process.
It is important to note that good faith bargaining does not require a bargaining representative to make concessions during the bargaining process or reach an agreement on the terms to be included in an agreement.
Ambit: You often hear that EB claims contain ambit. Under an interest-based bargaining approach, you attempt to achieve an outcome that delivers on the “interest”. Consequently, the QTU enters the bargaining process with a range of strategies/ideas on how this might be achieved. Not all are adopted (i.e. they are considered ambit) because the interest is achieved in another way.
Single bargaining unit (SBU): The group of representatives appointed by the QTU and the department to negotiate the new agreement.
Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC): The independent tribunal that certifies the agreement that emerges from the negotiations, allowing it to be implemented.