Lutheran EA approval process
As much as Lutheran employees voted up the proposed Lutheran EA in November, the agreement hit some technical stumbling blocks in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) approval process.
This came as a surprise to both parties, as most of the technical issues raised by the FWC had passed without comment in previous Lutheran Agreements.
These issues related to some clarifications that may have been easily remedied, but also included some more fundamental issues relating to Department for Education affiliated kindergartens.
The joint decision between LESNW and IEU(SA) was for the application to be withdrawn and a revised (more compliant) document be put to the vote early in 2021.
Staff will have been issued with a new NERR and the technical wordsmiths are working on a revised agreement. Changes being mooted are not intended to affect conditions as previously agreed.
In the meantime, the employers have agreed to continue to pay the 2% under the 2020 document.
As matters progress there will eventually be a new ‘access period’ and voting process ahead of – hopefully – formal approval.
