Giving Teeth to Statutory Obligations to Consult Over Redundancies

By Anthony Forsyth

The collapse of HIH Insurance, OneTel and Ansett, and large scale redundancies arising from restructuring at a range of other establishments also raise the issue of workers' rights to be consulted about substantial change in the workplace.

Events of the past year have seen the AIRC adopt a more innovative approach to the statutory obligation to consult, particularly in the CPSU and EPU v Vodafone case and in the CEPU v Optus case.

Forsyth outlines the current statutory regime, and the rights under the Termination, Change and redundancy case of 1984. The duty to consult has been a grey area and the AIRC's remedial powers are discussed in this regard.

He also looks at the European example under the 1975 Collective redundancy Directive and the 1977 Acquired Rights Directive, that impose certain obligations. The UK has previously stood outside the European framwork on these issues, like Australia not having a tradition and culture of social partnership, but the UK has now implemented them. These include the duty to consult over planned large scale redundancy and to provide detailed information.

The European Works Council Directive covers multinational companies and requires annual meetings with employee-elected councils where the company has to provide detailed financial information on the state of the business and prospects and proposals for restructuring. Australia neds to move this way.

(Australian Journal of Labour Law; vol. 15, no. 2, September 2002)