Bargaining for quality: Quality clauses in enterprise – agreements in Queensland

Both enterprise agreements (EAs) and the implementation of total quality management (TQM) have the goals of improving productivity and performance and distributing the gains of such improvement within workplaces and, in a broader context, making Australian products more competitive in the international marketplace. Despite their common goals, the two approaches are not substantially “married” in action. This paper examines the inclusion of TQM and related clauses (henceforth quality) in EAs in Queensland and concludes that as yet the EA approach adopted by most organisations only incorporates some aspects of a quality approach to improving performance.