Instructions
Identify a current major certified Enterprise Agreement (Context base on Australian industrial relations) and explain in detail the:
- History of parties (organisation and Union), relevant economic circumstances including market and political situation underpinning the Agreement.
[Once you have chosen an Enterprise Agreement you need to identify the Organisation and Union. The Annual Report and website will assist here, the Fair Work Commission may also assist in terms of disputes. The financial reports and any business articles on the industry and the organisation. The political situation may relate to the Federal/State Budget or China trade war or similar]
- Process followed by parties to achieve a completed Enterprise Agreement.
[This is outlined in the FWC benchbook on EA’s and if there has been a dispute or scope order it can add to the process followed by the parties]
- Summarise Agreement and identify those clauses that go beyond the NES requirements.
[the Agreement is made up of clauses lifted from the Act under the National Employment Standards (NES) and aspirational clauses and those relating to the particular entity and Union. Some suit the employer (process and restrictions) and some the employee (penalties, allowances. etc). the summary reflects those clause that would have been argued about (Union leave, study leave, hours of work, penalties and allowances and of course wages and classification structure)]
- Explore two major clauses and explain the rationale behind it (how it came about, what impact it has on the parties and why it exists in the agreement) using the theory found in Bamber et al and/or Teicher et al.
[Look for clauses that cost money or time (same as money as it is a cost) consider how each party would have addressed it and what arguments might have been put forward]
- You are expected to include a minimum of 10 (ten) academic & peer-reviewed journal articles that are relevant to Industrial Relations and published between 2011-2021 (Note: Wikipedia is NOT an academic reference)
- The report must be word-processed, and must follow a report format, including correct referencing (Harvard style), formatting, layout and grammar. In relation to referencing, the report must include accurate and detailed in-text referencing as well as a list of references, and follow a Research Project (file: Report Structure)