AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver, has told a conference of industrial relations experts that the Qantas lockout has turned industrial relations on its head.

Speaking at a conference on enterprise bargaining last Friday, Mr Oliver said that by seeking to create a situation of forced arbitration, Qantas had reversed previous business opposition to third party intervention in industrial negotiations.

“What a week we have had.  The people who normally argue for freedom of the parties to negotiate are screaming for intervention… The people who normally fight tooth and nail against arbitration are celebrating the Commission like it is the new black.”

Oliver said the support for Qantas from conservative commentators had contrasted strongly with the usual howling down of union tactics.

“Here are some of the things my union has been called over the last 20 years in enterprise bargaining by employers, by Government and by newspapers.

“We have been called industrial thugs and economic terrorists.  We have been accused of bringing important industrial sectors to a standstill and threatening Australia’s economy.

“We have been accused of wildcat action.

“And we have even been dragged into courts on the basis of pattern bargaining for sending out information to our members about what workers across the industry are paid and what the industry can afford.

“For students of hypocrisy in political discourse it has been quite a big week.”

Oliver said that workers now had a stronger argument for having their rights enforced by arbitration.

“What do the workers at Cochlear – who have voted for a collective agreement on 5 separate occasions, and have been denied an agreement by their company’s juvenile tactics for the past five years – have to do to get access to arbitration and a quick determination in the commission?”

The conference was organised to mark the 20th anniversary of enterprise bargaining in Australia, which began in 1991.

Mr Oliver pointed out that despite the strong emphasis on bargaining at the enterprise level, only 45% of AMWU members were on certified enterprise agreements.

“We have about 1500 agreements, but the majority of our members are covered by informal, over-award arrangements,” he said.

He said shortcomings in the enterprise bargaining system were preventing both business and unions from making mutually beneficial agreements on productivity, skills training, investment in innovation and technology.

“The thing about industry-wide standards now, is that we effectively can’t bargain for them.  Pattern bargaining is still prohibited, and so-called 'multi-employer bargaining' prohibits industrial action.  So we have to put those matters in agreements, even though that instrument is simply not fit for purpose.” 

The full speech is available at this link.