WORKING TOGETHER:
Frequently Asked Questions - Industrial Action
- What is a protected action ballot?
- Is a protected action ballot industrial action?
- What is industrial action?
- What is the process for a protected action ballot?
- Who can vote in the protected action ballot?
- How many votes do the union need to approve industrial action?
- What happens if the protected action ballot is approved?
- Who can engage in industrial action?
- What is the University’s position on the NTEU’s current ballot?
- Why does the University view the protected action ballot a “threat of industrial action”?
- Why does the University refuse to bargain under the threat of industrial action?
Q1: What is a protected action ballot?
A protected action ballot is a vote by union members on whether or not to take industrial action against their employer.
Industrial action is illegal in Australia unless it is taken during enterprise bargaining negotiations and endorsed by a secret ballot of the union members in the workplace—a protected action ballot.
Q2: Is a protected action ballot industrial action?
A protected action ballot is a necessary precondition to taking lawful industrial action. It is not industrial action as such. The union does not have to take industrial action once it has a successful ballot, but it would not seek a protected action ballot if there was not some intention to take industrial action.
Q3: What is industrial action?
Industrial action can take many forms, including strikes, work bans and any other action that is designed to disrupt the employer’s business.
The NTEU’s current application proposes work stoppages and bans on various activities including working additional hours and answering phones and emails. Unfortunately, the application also includes proposals to ban the assessment and transmission of student results.
Q4: What is the process for a protected action ballot?
Before conducting the secret ballot, the union needs to apply to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission for permission to conduct the ballot. In the application, the union has to list all the different types of industrial action that it may take.
If permission is granted, the Australian Electoral Commission (“AEC”) will conduct the secret ballot on the union’s behalf. The University and the NTEU are required to cooperate with the AEC in preparing the roll of voters and scrutinising the counting of votes.
Q5: Who can vote in the protected action ballot?
To be eligible to vote in the protected action ballot you must be:
- an employee of the University; and
- a member of the NTEU; and
- covered by the University’s enterprise agreement.
Q6: How many votes do the union need to approve industrial action?
In order to approve the industrial action, at least 50% of eligible union members must vote in the ballot. Of those who vote, 50% must approve the industrial action.
Union members can vote for or against all the different types of industrial action proposed by the union.
Q7: What happens if the protected action ballot is approved?
If the union members vote in favour of taking industrial action, the union is allowed take protected industrial action within 30 days from the date of the ballot. The union must give the University 3 days notice of its intention to take any action.
Q8: Who can engage in industrial action?
Only union members who are covered by the University’s enterprise agreement can take industrial action.
By law, the University cannot pay staff for any time they spend engaged in industrial action.
Q9: What is the University’s position on the NTEU’s current ballot?
The University respects the rights of the union and its members to vote in a secret ballot and to pursue industrial action.
However, the University feels that the current ballot is premature and unnecessary. The NTEU has shifted the goal-posts in the current negotiations a number of times. Most recently, it logged the University with an expanded set of claims an hour before a meeting. A week later, when the University said it was prepared to consider the NTEU’s claims and proposed a way forward, the NTEU told the University that it would be seeking a protected action ballot with a view to taking industrial action.
The University genuinely does not understand why the NTEU thinks that industrial action is necessary. Industrial action is usually a last resort when negotiations are breaking down and progress is not being made, yet the University has consistently signalled our willingness to engage in constructive and ongoing negotiations.
The NTEU is seeking ballots against other Universities. We can only presume that the University of Melbourne is being caught up in a national or state-wide political campaign, rather than a campaign aimed at advancing the particular claims of University of Melbourne staff.
The University is particularly concerned that some of the industrial action proposed by the union may negatively impact on the welfare of our students. An enterprise agreement is a matter between staff and management. It is not fair if students are adversely affected by the union’s actions.
Q10: Why does the University view the protected action ballot a “threat of industrial action”?
The union would not seek a protected action ballot if it did not intend to take industrial action. If the ballot is successful, the union does not have to take industrial action but it does make taking lawful industrial action possible. It is therefore a threat of industrial action.
Q11: Why does the University refuse to bargain under the threat of industrial action?
The University has always taken a cooperative rather than a confrontational approach to enterprise bargaining. The University gives due consideration to union claims and engages in good faith bargaining. The union’s claims need to be assessed against the long-term needs and goals of the University. This is a considered and responsible way of negotiating towards a workable Enterprise Agreement.
In these uncertain financial times, the University is more determined than ever to ensure that the terms and conditions of our staff’s employment are responsible and affordable. We will not be pushed into an unsustainable agreement.
Now, more than ever, is the time to work together and not against one another.