Role of the Australian Fair Work Commission in Regulating Employment Relationship - Assignment Example

The roles of the Australian Fair Work Commission in regulating the employment relationship Australia has established employment laws at all levels, which covers the federal, the states or the territorial levels, to ensure that employees are operating in suitable working conditions. These laws cover a wide range of employee and employer relationship issues, ranging from minimum conditions of work, discrimination at the workplace, the guarantee of the safety and health of the employees, employee remuneration, leave and pensions (Blake, 2004:15). Nevertheless, despite the level at which an employee works, the employment conditions and terms are comprehensively covered and provided for at the federal level under the Fair Work Act 2009, which provided for the formation of the Fair Work Commission as the body regulating labor in Australia (Cooper & Ellem, 2009:287). The legislation aimed at replacing numerous state labor laws that were established by different states individually, which did not balance or provide for the requirements of the workers equitably. Nevertheless, this legislation did not take over all the labor responsibilities from the territorial and the state authorities. It only took the responsibility of regulating some of the labor functions nationwide, while leaving some of the labor functions such as safety and health of the workers, workers compensation and workers leave being regulated at both the territorial and the state levels (FWC, 2014:n.p.). However, it is important to understand that the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 as regulated at the federal level overrides all the other provisions of different laws enacted both at the territorial and the state levels. This is because this legislation seeks to have the control of the whole labor force field in general (Sheldon, 2008:236). Despite this law being the primary labor law in Australia, there are certain aspects of the labor that are exempted from the coverage of the law. In this respect, the roles of the Australian Fair Work Commission as provided under the Fair Work Act 2009 include: Creating fair workplaces Under the function of the creating fair work places, the role of the Australian Fair Work Commission is to set the minimum wages and minimum work conditions that must be met by the employers (Australia gov.au., 2014:n.p.). In doing this, the Fair Work Commission serves to create a safety net where the employees are protected in terms of the remuneration they receive from the employers, by ensuring that all employers are providing wages that are in line with the set minimum wage requirement. This way, the Australian Fair Work Commission makes sure that the employers do not set arbitrary compensation for their employees. This creates inequality in the workforce compensation, where some employees could be rewarded well while the others are oppressed by their employers (Baird & Williamson, 2009:7). Thus, the set limits of the minimum wages that should be paid by any employer seek to ensure that there is fairness in the workplace, regardless of the level at which an employee works, or the nature of the work they undertake. Further, through setting the minimum conditions that any workplace should have, the Australian Fair Work Commission ensures that all workers are exposed to the same working environments (Taylor, 2009:22). This way, it becomes possible to balance the fairness of the workplace conditions, since an employee can work in any place and still feel comfortable, since all the places of work have provided the minimum conditions that enhance the comfort of the employees. Addressing matters of termination of work The Australian Fair Work Commission plays the role of handling the matters of workforce termination, mainly through providing remedies where he termination process is unfair (FWC, 2014:n.p.). It is expected that at the workplace, there are times when the workforce and the employers may fail to agree on certain issues. However, even where such circumstances arise, it is also expected that such issues between the employees and the employers are handled with reasonableness, to ensure that none of the parties suffers unjustly or unfairly (Sibillin, 2009:26). Therefore, the major role of the Australian Fair Work Commission is to act as arbiter under circumstances where the disagreement between the employees and the employers results in the unfair dismissal of the employees (FWC, 2014:n.p.). Under such circumstances, the Australian Fair Work Commission operates by clarifying the procedures that the employer should apply in dismissing an employee, and where the breach of the procedure is found, the necessary remedies are offered by the commissions. The remedies may entail reinstatement of the employee back to work, or the compensation in damages for the unfair dismissal (Butler, 2006:24). Regulating taking of the industrial action The workplace constitutes a conflict prone environment, where the employee and the employer may disagree on matters relating to the working conditions (Blake, 2009:23). This result in either of the parties taking action that would push the other party to react towards their grievances, under circumstances where the party whose attention is sought does not seem to recognize the need to address the issues raised. Thus, a range of industrial actions have become necessary channels through which the workplace issues are raised with the concerned parties (Sibillin, 2009:26). However, there are certain procedures that should be followed before an industrial action is taken, which constitutes the legal procedures of picketing, protesting or demonstrating for the employees. In this respect, the Australian Fair Work Commission is responsible for establishing such procedures, to ensure that all industrial actions are taken procedurally and in line with the required laws, to avoid creating anarchy and lawlessness at the workplace (Creighton, 2011:117). Thus, the commission defines the relevant industrial action procedures, and then evaluates whether such procedures have been strictly adhered to, during any industrial action taken, as a way of providing solution to labor disputes (NSW Business Chamber, 2012:n.p.). Dispute resolution The Australian Fair Work Commission is responsible for resolving any form of disputes that arises in the workplace, whether at the federal, territorial or state levels (Australia gov.au., 2014:n.p.). Under this responsibility, the commission engages in the process of collective bargaining between the employer and the employees, through the application of various dispute resolution mechanisms, depending on which mechanism is suitable for the situation. Therefore, the Australian Fair Work Commission can reconcile the employees and the employer through the conciliation mechanism, or it can arbitrate or mediate in the cases between these parties. This is meant to ensure that the workplace disputes are resolved speedily and effectively, thus averting the possible negative implications of such prolonged disputes in the workplace (Taylor, 31). In doing this, the role of the commission is to ensure that the process of settling the dispute through bargaining for a deal between the employees and the employer is fair and legal, and thus it does not stand a chance of raising further disputes in the future (Blake, 2004:15). How the Commission uses its powers to regulate collective bargaining in the workplace The major role of the Australian Fair Work Commission in bargaining process is to ensure that the concept of collective bargaining, as opposed to that of traditional agreement making, is applied to reach suitable bargain deals between the employees and the employers (NSW Business Chamber, 2012:n.p.). In doing this, the Australian Fair Work Commission uses its powers to bring the employees and the employer into a bargaining table, through a process referred to as the enterprise bargaining process (FWC, 2014:n.p.). This process is completely different from the normal agreement making between the employees and the employers under the provision of other labor laws. This is because, any collective bargaining agreement entered and approved under this process binds all the employees, whether they approved or disagreed with the bargain, or whether they are currently working with the employer or they will become future employees (FWO, 2014:n.p.). The power of the Australian Fair Work Commission in the collective bargaining agreement constitutes the power to determine whether to approve or disapprove a bargaining agreement between the employees and the employers, regardless of whether such agreements satisfies other statutory laws (FWC, 2014:n.p.). Further, the other power of the Australian Fair Work Commission is to provide for the individual flexibility agreement (IFA), which is a necessity according to the enterprise collective bargaining process. This power of the commission requires that; while the bargaining agreement binds all the employees, the collective bargaining agreement should make a provision which allows for an individual employee to vary the terms of the specific terms of the agreement (Baird & Williamson, 2009:12). In addition, the Australian Fair Work Commission has the power to refuse the approval of the collective bargaining agreement presented by the employer, under conditions where the employer has not given sufficient notice of the employee representational agreement (FWO, 2014:n.p.). The other major power of the Australian Fair Work Commission, in the collective bargaining agreement establishment between the employee and the employer, is the strict application of the good faith bargaining provisions (FWO, 2014:n.p.). The good faith bargain provisions provide that the parties to the bargain agreement should ensure to be reasonable, genuine and sensitive, such that the parties do not apply capricious or unfair means to obtain an upper hand in the bargain (Australia gov.au., 2014:n.p.). Therefore, the Australian Fair Work Commission has the power to approve or disapprove the collective bargaining agreement entered by the employees and the employer, based on whether the commission is satisfied that all the requirements of the good faith were specifically met (NSW Business Chamber, 2012:n.p.). References Australia gov.au. (2014) ‘Employment and workplace’. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://australia.gov.au/topics/employment-and-workplace Baird, M., Williamson, S., (2009) Women, Work and Industrial Relations in 2008, Journal of Industrial Relations, 51(3). Blake, N. (2009) ‘Transitional rules to introduce new workplace laws’, Australian Nursing Journal, 16(10), 23. Blake, N. (2004). FAIR minimum wages: The high road or the low road?. Australian Nursing Journal, 12(2), 15. Butler, J. (2006) ‘The minimum wage and the Australian fair pay commission’, Policy, 22(3), 23-27. Cooper, R. & Ellem, B. (2009), Fair Work and the Re-regulation of Collective Bargaining, Australian Journal of Labor Law, 22 (3), pp. 284–305. Creighton, B. (2011) ‘A Retreat from Individualism? The Fair Work Act 2009 and the Re-collectivisation of Australian Labour Law’, Industrial Law Journal, 40(2), 116-145. Fair Work Commission (FWC). (March 24, 2014) ‘At the Commission: Overview, Retrieved April 13, 2014, from https://www.fwc.gov.au/at-the-commission/overview Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). (April 17, 2013) ‘Legislation: Fair Work Act 2009 & the supplementary Fair Work Regulations 2009’. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/legislation/pages/default.aspx NSW Business Chamber. (2012). ‘Agreements and bargaining’. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au/resources/employment-topics-a-z/agreements-and-bargaining Sheldon, P. (2008). What collective bargaining future for Australia? Lessons from international experience. In J. Riley and P. Sheldon (eds), Remaking Australian Industrial Relations (pp. 235–48). Sibillin, A. (2009) ‘Industrial relations’, Brw, 31(42), 26. Taylor, J. (July 1, 2009) ‘Unions welcome new Fair Work act’, The 7:30 Report. Read More