An SDA member at Surf Dive n Ski – with the support of the SDA – has terminated the outdated Billabong Enterprise Agreement 2012, which saw herself and other workers paid hundreds of dollars each below the minimum standards outlined in the Retail Award.
On December 7, “Zombie” Enterprise Agreements – which predate the Fair Work Act – will be automatically terminated as part of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay changes last year.
This is a great outcome for thousands of workers across the country, who have been left on these agreements – well over decade old.
However, there remains a gap. There are 100s of Enterprise Agreements established after 2010 that retain outdated provisions and substandard wages that are still allowed to operate – these Agreements are the new Zombie Agreements.
The Fair Work Act allows unions to commence bargaining for new Agreements within five years of expiry of current one. But this leaves a gap of Agreements that expired before 2018 that can continue to exist.
There are hundreds of Agreements that fall into this category – including the Billabong Group Agreement – which allowed Billabong to pay substandard wages, deny workers penalty rates and not provide the conditions of the Retail Award.
This Agreement expired in 2015 and it was only terminated because a brave worker, Sarah Strybos, stood up and demanded that her pay and that of her colleagues was lifted to what should be the minimum standard. The SDA was proud to support her in these efforts.
The Way Forward
The current laws tie unions’ hands on these 2010 – 2018 non-union agreements, as only current employees are able to apply to terminate them.
The SDA has worked to terminate dozens of Agreements in recent years and supported workers in their efforts to do this.
The SDA is now undertaking a thorough process to find and seek to terminate these Zombie EAs.
Sarah’s Story:
“I applied to terminate the agreement because I didn’t want myself or any other workers to be subjected to this unfair agreement for any longer than they had to be.”
“This was my first proper job and I trusted that Surf Dive n Ski was doing the right thing by me and paying me the minimum entitlements.”
“I was still at university at this time and being paid even $100 more a week would have made a huge difference to me.”
“It’s frustrating to know how much money I missed out on under this dodgy agreement.”
“I was shocked to find out that even though I wasn’t being paid penalty rates, what my employer was paying me was technically legal.”
“When my employer found out that I had started asking questions about our entitlements and the Agreement, they dismissed my concerns.”
“They knew the Agreement was disadvantaging me and they didn’t care – and that was really disappointing.”
Quotes from SDA SA Branch Secretary, Josh Peak:
“Agreements like the Billabong Agreement continue to operate at the detriment of workers.”
“There is nothing illegal about operating under an expired Agreement that offers substandard pay and conditions.”
“The system for terminating expired agreements is requires individual workers to so, potentially exposing them to retribution from their employer.”
“There is no impetus on employers like Billabong to terminate these expired agreements and workers like Sarah are the ones paying the price for this.”
“The SDA is conducting a thorough audit to find and seek to terminate these dodgy expired Agreements.”
“There must be a complete clean out of these expired Agreements that are well past their shelf-life.”