Industrial Relations & Enterprise Bargaining
The industrial side, handled properly. Enterprise bargaining, union engagement and right of entry, industrial action, and award and agreement interpretation.
The relationship is either an asset or a running cost
Employers tend to fall into one of two patterns with unions. Some treat every interaction as a confrontation, which guarantees that every issue becomes one. Others concede reflexively to avoid conflict, and discover three rounds later how much ground they've given away.
Neither is a strategy. A union relationship managed deliberately (firm on the things that matter, reasonable on the things that don't, and consistent enough to be predictable) costs far less than either extreme.
We help WA employers manage that relationship, and handle the technical requirements that come with it.
You might be dealing with
- A delegate escalating matters that should be resolved at supervisor level
- A right-of-entry notice you're unsure is valid, or unsure how to respond to
- Officials attending site more frequently, or requesting records
- A new organiser taking a different approach from their predecessor
- Union involvement in a matter you considered an individual one
- A recruitment or membership drive on your site
- Requests for information you're not sure you're obliged to provide
- A relationship that's deteriorated to the point where nothing gets resolved informally
- Subcontractor industrial issues spilling onto your site
What's included
- Right of entry Assessing notices for validity, understanding what an official is and isn't entitled to do, where they may hold discussions, what records they may access, and how to respond without creating a dispute or a contravention.
- Delegate relationships Establishing how issues get raised and resolved, at what level, and in what timeframe: so escalation is an exception rather than the default.
- Consultation and information What you're obliged to provide, when, and how to do it in a way that satisfies the obligation without conceding more than intended.
- Meeting representation Attending meetings with officials and delegates, either supporting your leaders or leading the discussion.
- Site protocols Practical arrangements for access, meetings, notice boards and communication that work for an operating site.
- Supervisor capability Most union escalations begin with a supervisor who handled something badly, or avoided handling it. Building that capability reduces the volume of everything else.
Our experience
Union engagement and right of entry across mining, manufacturing, construction, energy and aviation. Including CFMEU negotiations on construction projects, and the assessment of subcontractor industrial relations risk across multi-employer sites.
We've managed these relationships from the employer side at site, regional and global level, through bargaining rounds, disputes, restructures and shutdowns.
Common questions
Do we have to let an official onto site?
It depends on whether the entry permit and notice are valid, the stated purpose, and whether the union is entitled to represent workers at that site. There are real limits, and there are also real consequences for wrongly refusing. Check before you refuse.
Can we tell our employees not to talk to the union?
No, and attempting to is a significant risk. What you can do is communicate your own position clearly and directly, which most employers do far too little of.
A delegate is raising issues constantly. What can we do?
First work out whether the issues are legitimate. Often a high volume of escalation reflects genuine problems that supervisors aren't resolving. Where that's not the case, the answer is usually a clear, agreed process for how issues are raised and dealt with, applied consistently.
Should we build a relationship or keep our distance?
Deliberate engagement is almost always cheaper. That doesn't mean conceding; it means being predictable, resolving what should be resolved, and being consistent about what you won't move on.
Ready to talk?
Tell us what you need and we'll take it from there.
Related services
All services →Enterprise Bargaining
Full bargaining lifecycle. Pre-bargaining review and costing, strategy, employee communication, negotiation, ballot and Fair Work Commission approval, and implementation. We sit at the table with you or lead it on your behalf.