Collective bargaining is an arrangement where two or more competitors in an industry come together to negotiate terms and conditions, which can include price, with a supplier or a customer.
A collective boycott occurs when a group of competitors agree not to acquire goods or services from, or not to supply goods or services to, a business with whom the group is negotiating, unless the business accepts the terms and conditions offered by the group.
Both collective bargaining and collective boycotts may raise serious concerns under the prohibitions in the Competition and Consumer Act against cartel provisions, anti-competitive arrangements (s. 45) and agreements between competitors to limit dealings with a particular supplier or customer (s. 4D).
Businesses will be exempt from the cartel offences and civil prohibitions if they have a collective bargaining notice in place, as far as the conduct relates to:
