Page 536 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 May 1992
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or models for enterprise bargaining in the Australian Public Service. The ACT Government will need to consider the applicability of the preferred Commonwealth model to the ACT Government Service. At the conference, it was clear that the States and the Northern Territory were also keen to see what approach the Commonwealth would be taking, as all are wrestling with the same issues in relation to their own public services.
The conference was addressed by Mr Laurie Carmichael, chair of the Employment and Skills Formation Council of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training. In his address, Mr Carmichael raised some key industrial relations implications of the recent report of his council proposing an Australian vocational certificate training system. Labour Ministers agreed that the issue of youth and training wages would best be considered following development of the training systems that might underpin the new entry level arrangements being proposed. Developments will occur at national level in consultation between government and peak employer and union representatives. The ACT will be monitoring these developments closely, as action on this front could have a significant impact on one of the major issues now confronting the Territory - youth unemployment. The ACT will also continue to monitor developments at the Commonwealth level in establishing an appropriate wage regime for workers with disabilities entering the mainstream work force.
Regarding changes to the industrial relations legal framework, the Federal Minister, Senator Peter Cook, informed the conference of the proposed amendments to the Commonwealth Industrial Relations Act, including variations to the provisions covering certified agreements and the provisions to deal with disputes over the use of independent contractors.
An important issue on the conference agenda was occupational health and safety. The Ministers from all the jurisdictions - that is, Federal, State and Territory - have reaffirmed their commitment to making every effort to remove barriers to the achievement of mutual recognition through national uniform outcomes by the end of 1993. There is no doubt that a national uniform and consistent approach to occupational health and safety standards and codes of practice will significantly improve the competitiveness of Australian industry. It was heartening to see that Labour Ministers across the political spectrum acknowledged this.
Ministers have endorsed a program of activity through the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission to develop and drive a strategy to achieve harmonisation of existing standards by the end of 1993. They have also endorsed a process by which senior officials from each jurisdiction will work towards developing legislative consistency so that operators of business in Australia will have the same obligations placed on them as regards their duties of care for their employees, and a consistent approach can be taken by governments in assisting them to improve their performance and in penalising them for breaches.
These were some of the key issues debated at the conference. In addition, useful information was exchanged on a range of other industrial relations issues. I shall be discussing a number of these at the forthcoming meeting of the ACT Industrial Relations Advisory Council, which next meets on 27 May. Consultation between government, union and employer representatives at that council will progress the debate on some vital issues which we need to address to improve the efficiency and the competitiveness of ACT industry and the capacity of our labour market to provide job opportunities for all Canberrans who are seeking satisfying work.
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