The Process:

What is an Enterprise Agreement?

Enterprise Agreements (EA’s) are conditions of employment negotiated between workers and employers. For employees who are members of a Union, the Union is the default bargaining representative and can assist members with representation and advice on how to achieve the best outcome during enterprise agreement negotiations. This requires active participation of all Union members if a worthwhile outcome is to be achieved.

What is a Log of Claims?

A Log of Claims is a list of specific changes that workers and employers separately take into enterprise bargaining negotiations. The list of changes is then negotiated between the two parties over a series of negotiation meetings to reach an outcome. The union member claims are developed by the union organiser in consultation with union members. The log of claims will be taken to a meeting of members who will be covered by the agreement, and put to a vote to be endorsed before it is put forward into negotiations.

How do Multi-Employer Agreements work?

The CEPU is going to apply for a Single Interest Multi-Employer Agreement, which means we can negotiate with multiple employers at once, for one single agreement, provided those employers share a common interest. In this case, Group Training Organisations that employ apprentices undertaking Plumbing, Electrical, and Refrigeration apprenticeships. To do that we will need to justify to the Fair Work Commission that more than 50% of Apprentices employed by each of the Group Training Organisations want to be included, this will be done through a petition process run by the Union but open to members and non-members.

Who do the Union want to include in the Multi-Employer Agreement?

The CEPU would like to get an agreement that covers as many apprentices in Group Training as possible. But our initial focuses will be on PEER, TAPS, ECA, Frontline, ATEC, and RAW SA, however we can only apply to include employers where we have gathered enough signatures. We would also like to include Master Plumbers eventually but their current agreement wont expire until 17^th January 2026.

What happens if we cant get a Multi-Enterprise Agreement up?

If we can’t gather enough signatures to apply for a Multi-Enterprise Agreement, we will go to the more “traditional” method of Single Enterprise Agreement negotiations. However we would still seek to create a pattern document to use at multiple employers and take the same log of claims forward.

What’s in it for apprentices?

CEPU members have developed a log of claims (things they want to get included in their agreement) which would improve employment conditions and help apprentices get the most out of their apprenticeships. Our log of claims can be found here.

Things to remember:

“It’s only by you doing it, that it will ever get done”

The Union is there to provide legal advice and representation through the bargaining process, but winning major increases to wages can only be won when pressure is put on the company by the workforce themselves. The Union isn’t a third-party service provider and it isn’t just the organisers and delegates, the Union is all of its members, and its through those members that the Union has its power and strength to achieve outcomes.

“Decisions are made by those who turn up”

Throughout enterprise agreements there will be correspondence from the Union office about the progress of negotiations, and meetings of members to make decisions regarding our claims. Decisions about the agreement will be made through this process and its those that actively participate in the process that will make the decisions. The Union organisers are there to provide advice and support, but it’s the members who make the choices, and if you don’t turn up, you won’t be able to help drive those choices.