Page 818 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 13 March 1991
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Mr Humphries and Mr Kaine have both outlined the various initiatives that this Government has taken in terms of dealing with the trade union movement and in providing good industrial relations management in the ACT. I shall not go over that ground again, but it is worth stressing the point that a number of those things that are in place are things that have been welcomed, I believe, by the trade union movement generally. I will just name them. Of course, there is the Industrial Relations Advisory Council, the occupational health and safety legislation, the establishment of that registrar, the Vocational Training Authority; all these things work well and link consultation between the unions, the private sector and the Government in this Territory.
The demonstrably low figures of industrial disputation that we have here in the ACT are an indication that those particular bodies, plus other forms of consultation which we have established with the trade union movement, are working, and working very well. When one compares the figures that are quoted by Mr Humphries - that in half the time they had double the disputes, or triple the disputes in a number of areas - it makes one wonder about the much vaunted ability of people on that side of the house to supposedly get on with their colleagues in the trade union movement. I guess perhaps that is an indication of factionalism rearing its ugly head again.
There are a number of areas where this Government has taken the initiative in the absence of Commonwealth legislation. We are in the process of finalising an occupational health and safety agreement with the ACT Trades and Labour Council, covering ACT Government Service employees. I think everyone acknowledges that the ACT Government Service is going through an important period of transition, and significant change and reform is necessary. In any process of change, of course, it is expected that there will be points of resistance. I think a prime example of those series of changes that we mentioned was the matters raised by the Minister for Health that referred to the hospital system. I think it is also worthwhile pointing out the very good record that this Government has achieved in that area.
In relation to the schools reshaping program generally, the fact that there were bans placed on various sites and things like that was supposedly seen as an example of an indication of bad industrial relations. But it should also be pointed out - and I think we all acknowledge this - that, whilst there was support from some elements of the trade union movement for some community based and quite legitimate opposition to government policy, in the whole context of that debate the schools reshaping program was a political issue rather than an industrial one.
Indeed, when the private contractors notified the matter to the Industrial Relations Commission, Commissioner Simmonds ruled that the South Curtin problem in particular was not
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