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Employee Consultation in NSW Awards & Enterprise Agreements

Introduction

Employee involvement is a key element of a flexible and productive workplace. It is essential to managing workplace change and creating an environment of openness. Involving employees through consultation and participation in the decision-making process is vital to workplace productivity and efficiency.

A survey undertaken in December 1997 of NSW enterprise awards and enterprise agreements found that consultative committees are used widely to discuss issues surrounding organisational productivity, performance and efficiency. Committees are also used widely to negotiate, implement and monitor the objectives and progress of the award or agreement. These case studies highlight how employee consultation has been introduced by two NSW enterprise agreements in situations where consultative committees are usually considered to be impractical.

Consultation in a construction project

A firm with a contract for a major public infrastructure project has used a formal consultative committee to manage a wide range of project tasks. The committee consists of two elected employees and two managers.

The committee's responsibilities include:

• developing flexible shift/work rosters;
• developing best practice initiatives for the project;
• contributing to TQM system development; and
• monitoring and developing work systems in order to improve the project's productivity and efficiency.

The committee meets when it considers appropriate.

In order that all engaged on the project are aware of the committee's activities, it publishes an agenda and issues minutes of meetings.

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Consultation involving training of contractors' employees

An enterprise agreement covering the employees of contractors and sub-contractors engaged in maintenance and construction work at an oil refinery uses a consultative committee to examine the effectiveness of a skills-based classification system.

The agreement states that the principal aim of the committee is to "ensure that employees are given adequate opportunity to progress through the skills-based structure".

The committee plays an important role in addressing ongoing training issues. It also has responsibility to review and endorse extensions and alterations to training periods.

For further information on employee consultation

The NSW Office of Industrial Relations has published Joint Consultation as a practical guide for employers, unions, employees and their representatives when setting up a consultative committee or reviewing its performance. Please contact OIR's  Information and Services Team on (02) 9020 4533 for further information.