Your Australian Services Union Bargaining Representatives bargained with Aerocare management on Thursday 22nd March 2018 for the Aerocare Collective Agreement 2018, commonly referred to as CA18.
What is enterprise bargaining
Enterprise bargaining is negotiations for improved wages and conditions between an employer and employees. The outcome of the negotiations is formalised in a document, the Enterprise Agreement. This process is overseen by the Fair Work Commission. The Commission is a government body that will also legally approve the Enterprise Agreement. The Commission applies a fairness test, called the better off overall test where the proposed Enterprise Agreement is benchmarked against the Airlines Operations Ground Staff Award. The Commission must then make sure that the Enterprise Agreement is better than the Award.
What role does the ASU play in enterprise bargaining
An employee whose employment will be governed by the proposed Enterprise Agreement is entitled to have a bargaining representative at negotiation meetings. For many ground workers in the Airlines Industry, whether at Qantas, Virgin, Menzies, Dnata etc, that bargaining representative is the ASU. The ASU has been bargaining for our members since enterprise agreements became commonplace in 1993. Our members benefit from the ASU’s experience because they get better pay and conditions in their enterprise agreements.
The History
The ASU first bargained with Aerocare in 2011 for the Aerocare Collective Agreement 2012. As your bargaining representative the ASU believed then, and continues to believe, that the enterprise agreement that Aerocare would like is not fair for employees and is below industry standards. For this reason the ASU has passionately bargained for a better enterprise agreement, and has strongly advocated to the Fair Work Commission for the Aerocare Enterprise Agreement to be improved. ASU advocacy ultimately saw the Fair Work Commission reject Aerocare’s request to approve Aerocare Collective Agreement 2017 because casual employees would be left stranded on the old enterprise agreement.
How can the ASU help.
By now you should have received a draft of Aerocare’s proposed enterprise agreement. This is the document that Aerocare want to use to set your wages and hours of work and other conditions of employment. The ASU will again fight to improve this draft agreement. Using our knowledge in negotiating enterprise agreements, our research resources and our experience in dealing with Aerocare we will make sure that Aerocare management does not get its own way and that you get a fair deal.
What do I need to do.
ASU Organisers are constantly visiting airports to see our members. You can approach an ASU official or you can contact the Organiser for your state listed below to find out more about being an ASU member. This is done on a confidential basis and your employer has no right to know of your contact with the ASU. If you want further information contact your local organiser listed below.
More information
If you have questions or queries make sure you contact your local ASU representative. For details download the full bulletin here 
AeroCare Bulletin - 23 March 2018