BCA continues call to end multi-employer bargaining: reports

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has renewed its call to end multi-employer bargaining in its latest string of criticism against the government.

BCA chief executive Bran Black made the call in front of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers at the peak body's annual dinner on Tuesday night, news.com.au reported.

According to the report, Black called for the abolition of multi-employer bargaining and a return to individual workplace agreements that "reflect the fact that every business is unique."

Black's call reflects businesses' continued opposition to multi-employer bargaining.

Just last month, three coal miners were compelled to enter a joint bargaining process for the pay deal of about 50 crew supervisors, managers and shift engineers at their NSW mines.

Black previously said employers should be "on edge" about the Fair Work Commission's decision.

"It will slash productivity and undermine enterprise-level engagement between employees and employers," he commented on the ruling. "If we continue to normalise these top-down mandates across every sector, it will mean less scope for competition between businesses and higher prices for Australians."

Five key areas of concern

Black's speech on Tuesday night highlighted five key areas of concern, including housing, cost of living, care economy, net-zero transition, and the skilled workforce shortage, according to the reports.

But Albanese told reporters on Tuesday before the annual dinner that the government's priorities are "in sync."

"One of the things that I noticed from the BCA’s list of five priorities is that they're my government's priorities as well," Albanese said. "And that's a good thing, that we're in sync on what the priorities are, as well as addressing the challenges."