The Bargaining Coach rarely comments on decisions of courts or tribunals. Plenty of others do that. This is a rare exception.

Many of you will by now be aware of the Aurizon decision where a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission constituted by Vice President Watson, Deputy President Gostencnik and Commission Spencer terminated 12 enterprise agreements. Fundamentally, this decision recalibrates the approach taken to the termination of expired enterprise agreements. Continue Reading The Bargaining Coach: FWC provides bargaining reality-check

This week we suggested a ‘kitchen table’ letter for a client in the midst of a bargaining impasse and a swirl of industrial action.

The kitchen table letter is one sent to the home of employees. Its aim is to ‘speak’ directly to the employees and potentially others in their family.

It reminds us of a manufacturer that bargained for most of last year. A ‘kitchen table’ letter was a small but important part of the mix. Continue Reading The Bargaining Coach: Lessons from a brave manufacturer

In his book Bargaining with the Devil, Harvard Professor Richard Mnookin probes the challenges and options available when negotiating with “a devil” – anyone you perceive as a harmful adversary. The Devil Brad

“The devil” is usually a traditional “power-based” negotiator who is win/lose orientated, adopts extreme positions, makes small concessions, and uses threats as a key tactic to enhance negotiating leverage. Sound familiar?

Power or “positional-based” negotiations have dominated Australian workplace relations and remain a feature of enterprise bargaining – in a system which, to be fair, legitimises the threat and reality of industrial action. Continue Reading Bargaining with the devil: in whose interest?

Adversarial debate has been the key form of advocating for claims in enterprise bargaining in Australia. In traditional power based negotiations, debate has its merits and place. Arguing for one’s position is invariably a necessity but it is not the be-all and end-all. Continue Reading “Please tell me who and where?” – The power of questions in bargaining

As the Australian Football League 2016 pre-season approaches, there is a lot of talk in the media about “list management” by clubs. This generally involves retiring or trading “older” players – usually over the age of 28.

It is often assumed – rightly or wrongly – that football players lose their athletic edge around this age. But is it fair – or legal –  to use age as a blunt proxy for performance?  There are players (like Dustin Fletcher of Essendon fame) that perform brilliantly into their late 30s and beyond. Continue Reading AFL “list management” – a polite term for age discrimination?