Page 3888 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 September 2018
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additional fair work inspectors to be based in the ACT and for greater resources for the Fair Work Ombudsman to investigate and prosecute businesses that are breaking the law.
The ACT government recognises it can play an important role in delivering better outcomes for territory workers by using its purchasing power to set the highest standards for workplace safety and worker rights alongside the delivery of quality services to the people of the ACT. Prior to last year’s election, the Chief Minister committed to a secure local jobs for local workers package for the territory. Since that time the government has been working to deliver on this commitment. On 2 August 2018 I was pleased to present the Government Procurement (Secure Local Jobs) Amendment Bill to this Assembly. The bill is one component of this government’s secure local jobs package.
The package will drive higher ethical standards, provide a level playing field for businesses that abide by their industrial relations and employment obligations, and ensure that competitors do not benefit from avoiding their legal obligations. In turn, this will deliver better jobs for Canberra workers by establishing clear principles to ensure fair pay and conditions and worker safety on public projects and contracts. Under the secure local jobs scheme, businesses seeking to engage in territory funded work will be required to outline their labour relations plan with details of their expected engagement with current and future staff, including any potential for the outsourcing of labour.
The government is committed to working with industry and the broader community to provide secure jobs for workers, in addition to safer workplaces across the ACT, and is undertaking consultation to ensure all stakeholders can provide their input to the proposals. I look forward also to receiving the report of the economic development and tourism committee’s inquiry into the bill.
We know we cannot simply abolish all insecure work practices. We know labour hire services are used in the territory for many legitimate reasons, but we also know the current regulatory framework is not sufficient to deal with the unscrupulous practices which some labour hire firms engage in.
Labour hire licensing was the focus of a number of recommendations made by committee members on both sides of the chamber. Indeed, I was pleased to see that Mr Wall and Mrs Kikkert’s dissenting report supported the national adoption of a labour hire licensing scheme. The introduction of labour hire licensing will promote the integrity of the labour hire industry and help establish a level playing field for labour hire providers.
A national scheme is also the government’s preference, a position I have made clear in discussions with my commonwealth and state counterparts. However, in the absence of movement by the federal coalition government, the Chief Minister recently announced the ACT government would move to license labour hire companies in the territory. In undertaking this work we will be consulting with relevant stakeholders and other jurisdictions, including Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, all of which have established or are establishing their own labour hire licensing schemes.
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