Organising means building enough UAW members in a workplace to act collectively. It starts with talking to colleagues.
Talk to one or two trusted colleagues about the issues that matter.
Australian architectural workers average 45 hours a week against a 38-hour Award. Only 6 to 7% report their overtime is paid. The profession calls that passion. It's unpaid labour, and it keeps fees low for the practice owners who benefit from the difference.
The Fair Work Act (s.172) lets as few as two members in a workplace start enterprise bargaining. The 2022 Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms added supported bargaining under s.172(4A), which extends multi-employer agreements across small practices, where most Australian architecture happens.
The legal framework is there. 6 to 7% of us use it. We can do better than that.
Organising is practical. It starts with one conversation at a time about the things that actually pressure people day-to-day: unpaid overtime, unclear contracts, stagnant pay, and what you’d change if you could.
Joining the UAW as an individual member gives immediate access to advice, representation, and resources. Organising takes it further: it means building a critical mass of members in a workplace so we can act collectively. The more of us who are members in the same practice, the stronger our position when raising issues with management.
Organising doesn’t require anyone’s permission. Workers cannot be targeted, disciplined or treated differently for being vocal and active members of a union. The Fair Work Act 2009 provides specific protections for workers from being targeted due to being part of a union or engaging in industrial activity. Membership is confidential. The UAW will never contact an employer without explicit consent.
The Architects Award 2020 (MA000079) is a legally binding document that sets the minimum terms and conditions for architectural workers. It sets out minimum rates of pay, leave entitlements, overtime and penalties, classification structures and much more. Most architectural workers don’t know the Award exists, let alone what it says. We help members understand their correct classification and whether they’re being paid what they’re owed.
If a UAW member has a grievance (underpayment, unfair treatment, unsafe conditions), the UAW will help them by providing legal and industrial advice, assistance and representation where required. This may be as small as advising you on your correct rate of pay, up to advocating for your interests in a court or tribunal, such as where your employment has been unfairly terminated. Members don’t face these situations alone.
Architecture has specific WHS concerns: ergonomic injuries from long screen hours, mental health impacts of deadline culture, and site safety when visiting construction. The UAW can provide guidance and assistance on these matters, including the ability to help you exercise specific work health and safety powers under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
In addition to the individual legal and industrial support that the UAW offers to individual members, the UAW is responsible for representing the interests of architects and architectural workers more generally. This includes participating in reviews and other consultation processes where the UAW will advocate for workers’ interests. This might include subjects such as unpaid internships, graduate exploitation, and campaigns for pay transparency and secure employment. Individual workers can’t do this alone, and the UAW’s ability to bring about systemic change is dependent on the ongoing support of our members.
An enterprise agreement (EA) is a legally binding agreement between an employer and their employees that sets pay and conditions above the Architects Award 2020.
The process works like this: once a majority of employees express their desire to bargain for an EA, the employer must bargain with them for a new enterprise agreement. If the employer refuses to bargain, the UAW can apply to the Fair Work Commission and compel the employer to the bargaining table. All parties must then bargain in good faith, which includes attending bargaining meetings, responding to proposals, and providing relevant information.
An EA must pass the Better Off Overall Test, or BOOT, whereby every employee covered must be better off compared to the Architects Award. Once approved, the agreement remains in force for up to four years, at which time employees can bargain again for a new EA.
For architecture specifically, an EA could address chronic industry issues the Award doesn’t address: capping working hours, guaranteeing paid overtime, funding professional development, improving parental leave, or setting clear promotion pathways. When workers unite and combine their voice, they are unstoppable.
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