Unions face economic reality check

Australian Higher Education Industrial Association

Unions are on a collision course with reality with their latest workplace demands.

The Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (AHEIA) made the comment in the context of its recent submissions to the Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia, which is scheduled to report at the end of September this year.

The inquiry aims to identify structural barriers to productivity growth, which has been lagging in Australia in recent years.

“AHEIA supports agreements that lead to fair and sustainable salary increases, underpinned by productivity improvements and has indicated that in its submission to the inquiry,” the Executive Director of the association, Craig Laughton, said.

The timing of the inquiry is good, particularly for the higher education sector, which is involved in enterprise agreement negotiations this year. AHEIA has cited a number of issues in its submission to the inquiry. They include: the scraping of outdated workplace arrangements; changes to the Fair Work Act that diminish bargaining incentives and hamstring the Fair Work Commission from reforming antiquated terms and conditions to promote productivity; overlapping and burgeoning regulations that are creating structural productivity issue; and a request that the federal parliament should task the Productivity Commission with a root and branch review of Australia’s industrial relations framework.

“About one in eight workers is presently a trade union member - in higher education it’s fewer than 10 per cent - but unions are privileged in the industrial relations system and productivity, economic prosperity and the nation suffer. An overhaul is needed,” Mr Laughton said.

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