A new agreement will give workers more say and allow a company to focus on competing by improving productivity and workplace practices.

AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver said that the agreement would allow workers to have full access to representation at work through their union, and showed that the company was willing to respect the rights and listen to the opinions of its employees.

“This new agreement will help to deliver productivity improvements for Thales and deliver better representation for their employees’ rights at work.

“The AMWU commends Thales management for taking this approach and recognising the benefits it can deliver.

“This is exactly the kind of cooperative joint approach to improving productivity that the recent Manufacturing Alliance national roundtable recognised was needed across the board with industry in Australia.
 
"This agreement is a great model for workplaces all around Australia to adopt.

“Workplaces with union collective agreements have happier, better paid employees and are more productive, successful businesses.

“It should also be noted that this agreement is only possible because of changes delivered under the new Fair Work legislation which which has provided the collaborative environment which allows employers and unions to work constructively.

“It shows business, unions and government working together delivers much better results for everyone compared with the adversarial and unproductive approach of the previous federal government.”