FAQs: Collective Employment Agreements

What is a collective agreement?

A collective agreement is the term used to describe a situation where a number of employees are party to an identical agreement—meaning they are bound by the same terms and conditions and are equally entitled to the same contractual rights. In New Zealand, collective agreements are recognised by the Employment Relations Act 2000 as binding and enforceable agreements. Collective agreements are classified by the configuration of the parties to them and come in two forms: either a multi-employer collective agreement (a “MECA”) or a single-employer collective agreement (a “SECA”).

As an employee, you will either be bound by an IEA (also known as an individual employment agreement, the parties to which are the single employee and the employer) or a collective agreement. There are a number of benefits attached to the collective nature of employment agreements—primarily, strength and safety in numbers.

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How did collective agreements come to be?

The Labour Relations Act (1987) preceded the Employment Contracts Act (1991), which in turn was replaced by our current Employment Relations Act (2000).

Prior to the Employment Contracts Act, collective employment agreements (or their equivalent) were commonplace, and in the health sector were probably the primary form of employment agreement, or award, as they were then termed. Collective agreements in some form or another had been the predominant medium through which employment terms and conditions were negotiated for some 100 years, since the inception of New Zealand’s first industrial legislation, the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act in 1894.

The first thing to understand is that collective agreements are not new. The Employment Contracts Act was a deviation from the norm in this sense; this Act prevented collective agreements and prohibited employees from striking in support of such a document.

Under the Employment Relations Act 2000, collective bargaining can occur only through a registered union such as APEX. Under this Act, a union can decide if they wish their collective agreement to cover one employer (i.e. a SECA) or more than one employer (i.e. a MECA). Currently, all APEX collective agreements are SECAs.

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What are the advantages of being party to a collective agreement?

The strength of negotiating together to improve conditions for all cannot be ignored. A collective agreement also provides the opportunity to provide better career planning, to take an occupational class approach to our employment, and a national view on our training and conditions of employment. It is an opportunity to ensure that all members of a profession benefit and are protected.

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How are collective agreements initiated?

A decision on whether a collective agreement will be negotiated is first made by a ballot of union members. All members of a union who are covered by the intended coverage clause of the collective agreement have the opportunity to be involved in the ballot. Each group of employees employed by any one employer votes on whether their employer should be involved in the collective agreement. Once this is completed, the Union will initiate bargaining with those employers for whom the employees have voted to include in the collective agreement.

You can view all of our current APEX collective agreements here.