John Durie: COSBOA to clarify industrial relations position as chair plays down talk of internal disagreements

The chair of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) has acknowledged concerns about communications with members, and to make amends intends to make clear the organisation’s “Statement of Intent” in dealing with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and industrial relations. 

In an interview with SmartCompany, COSBOA chair Matthew Addison rejected suggestions that either his or chief executive Alexi Boyd’s positions were in jeopardy as a result of the controversy surrounding the federal government’s recent Jobs Summit.

“No board member or member of COSBOA has put that to me,” he said.

In the days leading into the summit, the peak small business body signed a memorandum of understanding with the ACTU, which included an agreement to explore new collective bargaining options. This included the possibility of multi-employer agreements, which drew criticism from some parts of the business community.

The Statement of Intent “will restate the issues around the ACTU and industrial relations” Addison says, noting it would not be released before the regular board meeting this week. 

COSBOA had a regular, monthly roundtable last Friday in which, according to Addison, three members made their concerns known about communications and the process under which recent talks with the ACTU were conducted.

There were three others who spoke in support of the moves, Addison says.

COSBOA will release the Statement of Intent detailing its industrial relations policies after further talks with members. A regular scheduled board meeting on Thursday will also discuss the issue.

Jobs Summit controversy

The Jobs Summit controversy underlines some errors in the way COSBOA communicated the issues to members, and the pitfalls of making public statements on the issues ahead of the highly political event.

This is implicitly recognised by the efforts now being made to clarify the issues.

The internal protests within COSBOA also represent trouble for the government, which used an in-principle deal between the small business lobby group and the ACTU as signs of a new accord with business.

COSBOA is a different sort of industry group, comprised of a range of industry associations with no direct memberships and some with their own strong power bases.

It is also outside the traditional industrial relations club, which includes the Australian Industry Group and the Australian Chamber of Commerce.

During former boss Peter Strong’s 11-year reign, the lobby group was feted in part because it was seen as a plain speaking, honest broker prepared to speak its mind. 

But former bookshop owner Strong was also a canny experienced Canberra hand who ensured key membership figures knew his every step.

It appears Boyd’s mistake was to open up before the summit. 

Since the controversy broke, she has rightly argued COSBOA has not committed to pattern bargaining as claimed by some, saying she only supported an opt-in model.

In terms of the ACTU talks, Addison was firm.

“COSBOA should be talking to third parties including the ACTU,” he told SmartCompany. 

He said media reports of the “tense” and “heated” tone of last Friday’s meeting were “overstated” but noted there “were discussions and concerns were raised”.

In a letter to members after the meeting, Addison said “the MOU (with the ACTU) does not create legal binding obligations and acknowledges that there will be differences of opinion. We are opposed to unionisation of small business”.

The letter came after some members had expressed concern and surprise about the nature of the talks with the ACTU.

The MOU with the ACTU was seized on by the government as evidence of business support for the union demands on pattern bargaining.

But Addison told SmartCompany: “COSBOA does not support sector wide bargaining and doesn’t support the unionisation of small business.         

“Members attending expressed a variety of views including support and acknowledgement of the efforts ensuring that small business were part of discussions together with concerns over consultation and timing of the conversations with the ACTU. A constructive discussion was held noting and accepting the concerns.

“Reform of the BOOT (better off overall test) is needed. We agree with the statements by others that bargaining is not working and needs to be changed. COSBOA has stated support for consideration of new options which includes the ability of single businesses to achieve equitable outcomes.

“An option for example, maybe where five like minded businesses seek to engage in an agreement to provide greater flexibility for both employees and the employers. They band together for the purpose of legal consultation to create the agreement which each business then individually implements. Instead of five processes and five times the cost, this collaborative employer process saves time and money (noting that at present such an option is cumbersome and restrictive).”

Addison says COSBOA supports the government’s commitment to producing an industrial relations whitepaper over the next 12 months and “look[s] forward to the opportunity to collaborate on the detail behind all aspects of the outcomes from the summit”.