Page 2595 - Week 09 - Thursday, 8 August 1991
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long as we do not fool ourselves that putting out a statement about wages is going to resolve all of our problems for the next 12 months and we can forget about that and get on with something else. If we do that, it will be totally wrong; it will be totally unproductive.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health and Minister for Sport) (12.29), in reply: This debate has largely turned into a debate about industrial relations, management and a whole lot of other things which, of course, form a very important part of a wages strategy; but the statement, of course, was very clearly defined to the strategy of the Follett Labor Government in respect of wages. It was also about our Government's clear intention to endorse accord mark VI because, as a strategy for the Australian work force, it has worked well for Australians.
It is the sixth of some historic agreements in Australia which have impacted on the country's economy since the Hawke Government first took office. I think that we have to keep faith with the trade union movement in respect of wages. We have to recognise that the trade union movement is making a commitment to the restructuring of industry and the public sector and it is very important for governments to declare their position as soon as possible.
Having declared our position, I think there should be no concern amongst ACT public sector employees about the future of the wages system. An important issue for workers is job security, as is job satisfaction. There are other issues such as empowerment - having a bit of a say in what goes on in the workplace, a bit of industrial democracy - but, most importantly, workers have to be able to see that they are receiving acceptable and fair rates of pay. I think that the accord has delivered fair rates of pay in the Australian context and workers should be able to expect that that process will continue.
I will not touch on all of the issues that were raised by speakers on this matter, because I think they go to a wider industrial relations debate. One issue I would like to touch on before I close is the issue of enterprise bargaining. There should be no confusion amongst members on the issue of enterprise bargaining. It should not be confused with enterprise unionism and enterprise unions. There is nothing similar about them. Enterprise bargaining is an issue that is new to the industrial scene and it is being supported in the trade union movement. It is about workers in various enterprises being able to negotiate deals with their employers; but, in the general sense, they would still be protected by a national wages system, which, of course, is appropriate.
That is in stark contrast to what is being proposed by the conservatives federally, with Mr Howard adopting a mirror image of what he and Mr John Stone adopted in about 1982 or 1983 in respect of wages and trade unionism in Australia.
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