Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

We will not be supporting this amendment. The seven-day period for ready access to a proposed agreement will ensure that the approval of an enterprise agreement is not unduly delayed when the parties have already agreed to the terms. When an employer initiates bargaining it must give employees notice of the right to be represented by a bargaining representative and it must not ask employees to approve an agreement until at least 21 days after this notice has been given, and of course good faith bargaining orders will also be available during this period. The government believes that it achieves the right balance between protections for employees and the need for an agreement to be speedily approved once it has been reached.

Question negatived.