A Greenfield agreement is an agreement between a union and a new employer, that doesn't yet have employees. http://www.oea.gov.au/graphics.asp?showdoc=/employers/unionGreenfieldAgreement.asp http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au/nocookie/alert/2005/051027730.htm.

This has a number of benefits for the employer. A key advantage is that a greenfield agreement does not require the approval of any employees whose employment

Employment

Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...

 would be subject to the agreement. Basically, there are no employees to negotiate with. Another key benefit is that a greenfield agreement provides an employer with the opportunity to shut out less desirable unions as parties to and therefore effectively having a presence at the new business before the employment of any employees.

Greenfield agreements must involve a genuinely new enterprise

Business

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

; a business cannot simply initiate a new project and use this as grounds to negotiate a greenfield agreement. http://www.ablawyers.com.au/ThemakingofGreenfieldAgreementsfornewprojects.htm

External links

• Union Greenfield Agreements
• Role of future agreements: proposed workplace legislation