Let me explain how the family business will be hit.
• Unions have the power to appoint a delegate to any business employing at least one person. It is not clear how the various unions will share that right, but the Fair Work Commission indicates one union delegate per fifty employees is appropriate.
• The tasks and powers of the union delegate(s) are wide-ranging. They must be consulted on all major workplace changes including rosters and any process or procedure in which employees are entitled to be represented, including resolution of grievances or disputes, performance management and disciplinary processes. The definition of whom union delegates can contact in an enterprise effectively means everyone.
• Enterprises employing 15 or more people must be given time to attend the Trades Hall for “training”. Those with under 15 employees can do their training online. Transport enterprises are excluded because they have their own set of rules designed to push up costs by around 10 per cent by eliminating efficient and safe independent family owned truckies.
• It will be dangerous to retrench or sack a union delegate, and employers must give them access to space to do their work and to use the workplace communication system. The union delegates’ rights to share information among delegates in rival enterprises will be the subject of much controversy.
• Almost certainly, union delegates will be instructed by Trades Hall to insist that employers obey the new laws on casual employment. As I set out on April 23,
the new law defines casual employment in such a complex way that most businesses currently employing casuals will be acting illegally if they continue with the current arrangement after August 26, 2024.
