NECA and MEA cease negotiations

The negotiations between the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) and the Master Electricians Association (MEA) exploring better ways to represent and be the single voice of a united industry have now ceased.

“This is a missed opportunity for electrical contractors, our industry stakeholders and our long-term sponsors,” said NECA President Alan Brown. NECA will continue to focus on delivering improvements to its members and long-term sponsors across Australia, the association said in a statement. It will maintain its efforts in delivering positive outcomes for our industry.

In a statement, Master Electricians Australia President Tony Arnold said, “Unfortunately, after eight months of discussions, we have not been able to strike a deal that we believe respects the prestige of the Master Electricians Australia brand, and protects those elements of our united national association that we know our members value. Therefore, both sides have reluctantly agreed to end the merger discussions.

“Having instigated and enthusiastically participated in this process, Master Electricians Australia is disappointed that it has not resulted in the outcome we had hoped for. We thank the leadership of NECA for participating in the process and acknowledge the significant effort by Alan Brown in looking at all framework options to facilitate a merger.

“However, had we proceeded, the merged organisation would have been so different to Master Electricians Australia in both its structure and its ethos that we felt our members would have been disappointed with the outcome.

“We will now redouble our efforts to serve the electrical contracting industry through our united, national organisation and to protect and promote the prestige of the Master Electricians Brand.

“We know how much value our members place in the national brand — how much pride they take in saying they are accredited Master Electricians or members.  And we also know how much strength our united national body brings to important advocacy issues such as Power of Choice or security of payments.

“So while we are disappointed that we were not able to form a single, united national body, we remain committed to achieving the best outcomes for our members, our supporters and the entire industry, and look forward to working closely with NECA in the area of advocacy where common outcomes are best for industry,” said Arnold in a statement.

The two associations entered in to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in July 2018. In a statement issued in July, NECA said: “In recent years it’s become clear that the industry would benefit from having a stronger and united voice as well as providing a more comprehensive suite of services to members. As a result, both NECA and MEA have listened to their respective memberships and have entered a memorandum of understanding. This will allow the two organisations to collectively explore better ways to represent and be the single voice of a united industry.”

The talks were led by the two organisations’ national Presidents — Alan Brown for NECA and Tony Arnold for MEA.

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