Page 1100 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 2013
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In more recent years the ACT has undertaken a review of the Dangerous Substances Act to ensure its consistency with the harmonised work health and safety legislation. The act will introduce further harmonised regulations relating to asbestos, hazardous chemicals and major hazard facilities.
Even though, as I mentioned, the ACT is limited by federal legislation about what we can do to protect our working people, we have a good record on standing up to the federal government when the laws they enact are unfair and take away the rights that we believe workers deserve.
We all remember Work Choices—the Howard government’s disastrous workplace relations changes that tried to take us back to the industrial revolution where the idea of collective bargaining and holiday and sick pay were a figment of a worker’s imagination. Of course workers in the ACT felt the brunt of those changes as the federal government used our public service departments as laboratories for his extremist experiment. He even took away the ACT’s union picnic day. What a scrooge!
Among the many displays of opposition that we showed to Work Choices, one simple action that I think many members on this side of the chamber are proud of is the enactment of Family and Community Day. I know that those opposite may say this is nothing more than tokenism or symbolism, but their thoughts are purely superficial. We believe that the roles of public holidays are not just to recognise important events from our history or to recognise important contributions from some of the sectors of our community; we believe that public holidays allow Canberrans time throughout the year to rest and spend time with their loved ones. A quality life is not one that is spent predominantly at work.
If there is one achievement that stands out in the ACT that substantially improves the lives of working people here it is our proud record on portability of long service leave. Portable long service leave schemes protect the basic entitlement of workers to take long service leave. The ACT has introduced these schemes in industries where workers typically move frequently between employers while staying in the same industry for many years.
The ACT was the first jurisdiction to introduce a scheme for cleaning workers. We have since been followed by New South Wales and Queensland. We remain the only jurisdiction to have a scheme for community sector workers. I can proudly say that we now have portable long service leave schemes for building and construction, cleaning, security, and community sectors. Industries with portable long service leave are recognised for their importance to the economy and the community. These industries are more able to attract and retain workers as the employees have an incentive to stay within that sector.
The people whom I represent in west Belconnen, the hardworking people who make up the workforce for many low-paid industries, are the main beneficiaries of these schemes. Not all Canberrans are secure in their work, but if we can make sure that they are secure in their entitlements then we are giving them a good foundation to be able to work when they can.
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