Page 3097 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 24 September 2014
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And I do not understand how anyone could consider the scenario of a cleaner, for example, who is offered employment at lower wages and conditions or contract termination with no redundancy payment because they had been offered ongoing employment and think that that person had some sort of choice. Just as with the IFAs, it is not only the employees that suffer; it is all of the businesses who do the right thing by their employees.
I am genuinely surprised by the lack of understanding the proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act show for the working conditions of ordinary Australians. They are unfair and, unsurprisingly, inconsistent with the recommendations of the fair work review panel.
In considering the ability of employees to trade monetary benefit for non-monetary benefit on an IFA, the review panel recommended that the value of the monetary benefit forgone be relatively insignificant and proportionate to the benefit gained. Yet in the final draft these protections have been removed.
The fair work review panel also recommended oversight of IFAs by requiring employers to notify the fair work office of the agreement. This would have put pressure on employers to do the right thing and give them oversight in situations where workers might not realise that they have been exploited. Instead of expanding this oversight, the government implemented a genuine needs statement which simply requires the employer to secure a signature from their employee stating that the changes meet genuine need. It provides no oversight and no protection from exploitation.
I am concerned that the government is not implementing the recommendations of the review. Further, I am concerned about the impact this will have on the Canberra community as a whole.
Workers’ rights underpin a strong economy. The wages and conditions that Canberrans have fought for over 100 years have contributed to the economic prosperity of our city. It is not just public sector workers; it is all of our service workers whose pay feeds back into our economy and into the sectors where they work.
I cannot emphasise enough the importance of penalty rates. Penalty rates given to Canberra workers give them a decent standard of living and the ability to participate in the life of our city. Having a population with money to eat out, to take the kids to the movies and to enjoy a drink down at the club creates our civic life and supports our small businesses in the service industry.
I am seriously concerned about the effect of the bill on workplace rights in the territory and I commend this motion to the Assembly.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (11.38): I move the amendment circulated in my name:
Omit all words after paragraph (1), substitute:
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