Manufacturers to share permanent employees in 'game changer' scheme: report

Manufacturers of air-conditioning in Australia will soon have the authority to hire each other's permanent employees in a proposed shared labour pool scheme.

The multi-employer scheme is brought by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), which has already reached an in-principle deal with nine air-conditioning manufacturers, while seven others have committed to sign up, The Australian Financial Review reported.

Under the deal, a shared labour pool made up of employees of various manufacturers will be established.

During peak periods, participating manufacturers will be required to provide extra hours of work to these employees, with the hours to be counted to their original organisation.

Employers will also be required to prioritise the labour pool when looking for short-term talent and if they need specific skills before engaging with casuals or labour hires, the AFR reported.

On employees' end, those who are part of the labour pool are not allowed to unreasonably refuse the assignment handed to them.

Steve Murphy, AWMU national secretary, called the agreement a "game changer" that would shift the industrial relations environment to one "focused on collaboration."

Potential barrier for employment

Concerns, however, are emerging over the scheme becoming a potential barrier for employment.

"The downside is that these arrangements will create a barrier to entry for workers not covered by the agreement," Jack Buckley, economist for e61, told the AFR. "The lack of flexibility they create could also hurt productivity if casual or labour hire workers would be better positioned to meet the short-term needs of firms."

Innes Willox, chief executive of Ai Group, also warned that it could undermine competition among employers.

"Businesses would lose control of their workforce and be expected to operate as some form of cooperative, not have certainty on their labour force for planning, and create regulatory and legal uncertainty and confusion over issues like insurances, work health and safety obligations, leave entitlements and payroll," Willox said as quoted by AFR.

Murphy disputed these arguments, according to the AFR, which also reported that the scheme won't prevent employers from directly hiring new staff.

"While big business advocates will claim that improving workers' access to fairer bargaining would deliver negative outcomes, this agreement demonstrates that the reality is these agreements create modern, productive, and smart businesses that value and respect their workers," Murphy said.