Key points
- The Government is proposing to commence bargaining for the next enterprise agreement for Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 employees.
- Employees may appoint a bargaining representative by completing the attached form, giving it to their representative and emailing a copy to eacomment@finance.gov.au.
The Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019 nominally expires on 19 April 2020. I propose to commence bargaining for the next enterprise agreement for Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (MOP(S) Act) employees.
In accordance with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, MOP(S) Act employees will shortly be provided with a Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) advising them that they may appoint any person, including themselves, as a bargaining representative. The NERR also informs employees who are members of a union that is entitled to represent the industrial interests of the employees in relation to the work performed under the proposed enterprise agreement, that the union will be the employees’ bargaining representative for the enterprise agreement unless an employee appoints another person, or revokes the union’s status, as their bargaining representative.
Employees may notify Ministerial and Parliamentary Services of their appointed bargaining representative by completing the Bargaining Representative Appointment Form at Attachment A and emailing a copy of the form to eacomment@finance.gov.au. Employees are not required to nominate a bargaining representative if they do not wish to.
Travel and replacement employment during bargaining
For the purposes of facilitating bargaining for the next enterprise agreement, I have made a determination under the MOP(S) Act that:
- permits a bargaining representative to travel to negotiation meetings without their associated travel costs being debited from their employing parliamentarian’s electorate support budget, where applicable; and
- provides a parliamentarian, whose employee is a bargaining representative, with 20 days of replacement employment during the bargaining period at the classification of the bargaining representative, or a lower classification.
Your involvement
I encourage you all to be involved in the development of the next enterprise agreement. Employees are invited to provide feedback on terms and conditions of employment, by emailing eacomment@finance.gov.au. Information in relation to the negotiation of the next enterprise agreement will also be available on the MaPS website.
If employees have any queries in relation to the selection of bargaining representatives, please email eacomment@finance.gov.au. Parliamentarians are invited to contact their relevant Advice and Support Director* should they have any queries in relation to the negotiation of the new enterprise agreement.
Yours sincerely
Mathias Cormann
Minister for Finance
24 October 2019