Enterprise Agreements Update

20 November 2025

Rewarding the workforce; keeping Sydney connected.

Dear members,

We are writing with an update regarding enterprise agreements covering major Sydney contractors and their workers. Although your business may not be directly involved, the outcome has the potential to impact you and the whole electrical contracting industry in NSW and the ACT, so we want to keep you informed. 

• Union enterprise agreements, which set wages, allowances and conditions for employees at major electrical contracting firms in Sydney, expired on 31 October 2025. This means new agreements can now be negotiated between employers, employees and the Union and their representatives. 
• On behalf of a group of employers, NECA is holding preliminary discussions with the Electrical Trade Union (ETU) on the scope of the negotiations, with a meeting scheduled for Friday 21 November. 
• Previously, each employer would negotiate with its employees and the Union for a single enterprise agreement. 
• The Union has indicated it wants to take a new approach by negotiating for a multi-enterprise agreement that we understand it proposes to cover major construction electricians in NSW & ACT. 
• Laws that have been introduced in the last few years have provided additional pathways for a multi-enterprise agreement to be made between more than one company, their employees, and the Union. One pathway would involve the Fair Work Commission making an instrument known as a ‘single interest employer authorisation’. If this occurred, there would be negotiation for a multi-enterprise agreement involving all of the employers and employees named in the authorisation. If the multi-enterprise agreement was approved by the Fair Work Commission after a vote of employees, it could later be varied (through processes outlined in the Fair Work Act 2009) to add a new employer and certain of its employees. 
• Multi-enterprise agreement processes are complex and this complexity could lead to delay in negotiating improved terms and conditions of employment.   
• NECA strongly recommends that employers continue with single enterprise agreement arrangements, which is the usual approach. This would:
  • Reward hard work while keeping the electrical industry sustainable 
  • Provide certainty, minimises disruption and is a smooth process, so you get pay rises as soon as possible
  • Reflect the varied work, skills and costs in the electrical industry across different regions and is tailored to where you work and live. That means a Sydney agreement for Sydney workers.  
  • Recognise the diverse range of electrical contracting businesses, with specific agreements for each contractor.

This website page will continue to be updated with the latest information.

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