Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements HEWRRs

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Higher Education Workplace Relations
Requirements(HEWRRs)
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Why HEWRRs?

• Ongoing government IR reform
• agenda
• More and more University funding
• dependent on meeting criteria
• Kemp was first
• 2004 Funding criteria met
• (AWA wording)

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Government IR Reform Agenda

• New criteria announced 29 April, 2005
• Affects Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS)
  funding from 2005 onwards
• 2.5 - 2005
• 5 - 2006
• 7.5 - 2007

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Government IR Reform Agenda

• All this in the additional background context of
• VSU and
• ongoing lack of indexation

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What are the HEWRRs?

• Choice in Agreement Making
• Direct relationship with employees
• Workplace Flexibility
• Productivity and Performance
• Freedom of Association

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HEWRRs Criteria 1

• Choice in Agreement making
• Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs)
• AWAs to operate to the exclusion of of prevail
  over Enterprise Agreements

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What is an AWA?
An AWA is NOT a contract
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How would an AWA affect me?

• No need for concern
• AWA or Enterprise Agreement your choice
• Bargaining agents
• Flexibility of conditions(within limits)

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HEWRRs Criteria 2

• Direct relationships with employees
• Policies and practices must allow for direct
  consultation between employees and the
  university
• Third parties only on request of staff member
• Committees to have direct employee
  involvement not restricted to third party
  representation

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HEWRRs Criteria 3

• Workplace Flexibility
• Fair and flexible arrangements
• Displace previous workplace agreements and
  awards
• Not inhibit responses to changing
  circumstances
• No limits or restrictions to staffing
  requirements, forms and mix of employment
  arrangements
• Workplace Agreements to be simple, flexible
  and principle based avoid excessive details
  and prescription

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HEWRRs Criteria 4

• Productivity and Performance
• Focus on organisational productivity and
  performance
• Fair and transparent performance management
  scheme
• Reward high performance
• Efficient processes for managing poor performing
  staff

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HEWRRs Criteria 5

• Freedom of Association
• Consistent with principles in Workplace
  Relations Act 1996
• Not encourage or discourage union membership
• Not use CGS funds to pay union staff
  salaries, or fund union facilities and
  activities

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Changes to HEWRRs

• UNE moved to Group 2
• Compliance date moved from
• 31 Aug. 2005 to 30 Nov. 2005
• Casuals employed for lt 1 month
• not included in AWA requirement
• (at least until 30 June 2006)

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HEWRRs Key Dates

• 31 August 2005 AWAs to be offered to all NEW
  staff (appointed after 29 April), including
  casuals
• 30 November, 2005 UNE policies and practices to
  be HEWRR-compliant
• 31 August, 2006
• AWAs to be offered to all other EXISTING
  staff (as at 29 April 2005)
• HEWRR-compliant Enterprise Agreements

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What if we dont meet the HEWRRS?

• If 2005 guidelines are not met
• UNE loses 5 funding in 2006
• (including 2005 funding)
• If Enterprise Agreements are not HEWRR-compliant
  by 31 August 2006
• UNE loses 7.5 funding in 2007, (and
  thereafter until compliant)

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This will mean

• UNE severely will be disadvantaged
• Potential for
• job losses
• course cutting
• service reduction
• increases to workload

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The Plan

• For UNE to be
• HEWRR-compliant for 2006
• AWAs will be offered to all NEW STAFF by 31
  August, 2005
• All policies and practices to be reviewed by 30
  November, 2005

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The Plan

• For UNE to be HEWRR-
• compliant from 2007 onwards
• AWAs will be offered to all EXISTING STAFF by 31
  August, 2006
• EB negotiations with unions in 1st half 2006 to
  develop HEWRR-compliant Agreements

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HEWRRs
Questions?