On Tuesday, the Electrical Trades Union asked the Fair Work Commission to authorise an unprecedented multi-employer agreement covering NSW and ACT electricians. The application names only 12 large Sydney contractors, but the mechanism before the commission can then extend to every contractor with more than 20 employees.What was once opt-in now allows employers who never sat at the negotiating table to be dragged into one agreement. It lets the commission license, step by step; the pattern bargaining the law otherwise bans.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles