Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister, and it again refers to the sparkies working at the new Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet building. It also follows on from the minister’s answer referring to choice. Is the Prime Minister aware that the Australian workplace agreement that Martin Donnelly electrical services employees are required to sign provides that payment of bonuses, overtime, loadings, penalties or other allowances is at the sole discretion of the company, a multistorey allowance is removed and there is no guarantee of a pay increase during the three-year life of the agreement? Is the Prime Minister prepared to walk one block down to his new departmental headquarters and explain to the sparkies working on the site why the only real choice they have is to sign an AWA on inferior conditions—in other words, to take it or leave it?

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