No changes to the progress of the proposed transition of Local Governments to the State IR system

On 22 December 2021, the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 (IR Bill) received Royal Assent but is yet to be Proclaimed in the Government Gazettes.

The 'next steps before Local Governments are required to transition to the State system' reported in the December 2021 SIRT Bulletin remain unchanged.
 
The regulations to individually name each Local Government not to be a national system employer for the purpose of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) are currently being finalised by the State Government. We note that the State Government is also required to prepare separate regulations to fix the ‘relevant day’ to facilitate the transition.

At present we have no further updates about whether the Federal Minister for Industrial Relations will endorse a declaration for Local Government not to be a national system employer and when this may occur. WALGA is continuing to engage with the both the State and Federal Governments on the proposed transition.
 
Bargaining in the State IR system for subscribers
 
On 9 March 2022, WALGA Employee Relations hosted a webinar to discuss the process and formal requirements of bargaining for an industrial agreement in the State industrial relations system, in contrast to bargaining for enterprise agreements under the FW Act.
 
The webinar addressed a series of questions including:
  • Who can an employer bargain with?
  • What can the parties bargain about?
  • How can an employer commence bargaining?
  • What is required to formally register and have an industrial agreement approved?
  • What steps can be taken if the parties cannot reach agreement?
The PowerPoint presentation and a recording of the webinar can be viewed here by WALGA ER subscribers.
 
WALGA ER Subscribers can also access the new Industrial Agreement Bargaining Process Fact Sheet online. This resource provides an overview of the bargaining process for industrial agreements in the State industrial relations system under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA).
 
WALGA will continue to update you on key changes and impacts as they arise via the State IR Transition Bulletin.
 
If you subscribe to the WALGA Employee Relations service and have any questions about this alert, please email WALGA Employee Relations or call 1300 366 956.