The decision has raised concerns about the threshold for the supported bargaining stream
Retailers across Australia are calling for more certainty in the bargaining system following the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) recent order involving South Australian franchisees of McDonald's.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) last week ruled McDonald's must negotiate employee pay and conditions with unions in a landmark decision under the government's multi-employer bargaining reform.
The commission ruled it was "appropriate" for 18 South Australian franchisees of McDonald's and their employees to be covered by multi-enterprise bargaining as proposed by the Shop, Distributive, and Allied Employees' Association (SDA).
Chris Rodwell, chief executive officer of the Australian Retailers Association, said the decision raises "serious questions" about the threshold for the supported bargaining stream.
Supported bargaining is designed to assist and encourage employers and employees who may find it difficult to bargain at a single-enterprise level.
"The effect of a supported bargaining authorisation is that the employers specified in it are subject to certain rules in relation to the agreement that would not otherwise apply (such as in relation to bargaining orders)," the FWC said on its website.
But the ARA and the National Retail Association (NRA) said the supported bargaining stream is intended to assist sectors such as disability care or early childhood education, which have clear barriers to bargaining.
According to them, the supported bargaining stream does not apply to the quick service restaurant industry, where hundreds of enterprise agreements have been negotiated under the ordinary provisions of the Fair Work Act.
"This decision raises serious questions about the threshold for supported bargaining and whether the stream is being applied more broadly than Parliament intended," said Rodwell in a statement.
"Small business operators in fast food and retail are already facing significant cost pressures and economic uncertainty. This decision heightens the prospect of those struggling businesses being drawn into multi-employer negotiations without a majority of employee support is deeply concerning."
The Australian Industry Group also previously warned that the decision could potentially drag employers in the fast food, retail, hospitality and many other sectors into multi-employer bargaining by unions against their will.
The Federal government should closely review the implications of the FWC's ruling and consider making amendments to the Fair Work Act to restore clarity on supported bargaining, according to the ARA and NRA.
"Franchisees and other small employers need certainty that the bargaining system will remain focused on genuine enterprise-level negotiation, not union-driven coordination across unrelated employers," Rodwell said.
Shop, Distributive, and Allied Employees' Association South Australian secretary Josh Peak last week welcomed the decision as a landmark win for fast-food workers in Australia.
"This decision sends a clear message: corporate America can no longer deny their low-paid Australian workers the right to bargain," Peak said as quoted by the Australian Financial Review.
