Maxine McKew (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Fair Work Bill 2008. I must say that, sitting in the House as a native of Queensland, it has been most entertaining to listen to the member for Kennedy recount an extremely colourful, if somewhat selective, history of unionism in the sunshine state. But I intend to use my time to recount a little history of my own. Exactly one year after Australians said no to the Howard government’s Work Choices by choosing a new government, the Rudd Labor government continues to honour its election commitments. The Fair Work Bill 2008 provides Australian workers with a new and democratised workplace relations system. This bill begins a series of reforms that will be implemented over the next two years. The Fair Work Bill says yes to rights at work, it says yes to a safety net, it says yes to good faith enterprise level collective bargaining and it says yes to balancing work and family life.

This bill guarantees social inclusion for all Australian workers and economic prosperity for the nation. It is significant, I think, that the introduction of the Fair Work Bill marks the anniversary of Labor’s victory. It is also significant that this bill marks the conclusion of the Rudd government’s first year, a year which began on a most historic day for the nation: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to Indigenous Australians. It is momentous as well that the Fair Work Bill 2008 will deliver a workplace relations system equipped to meet the needs of the Australian people in the 21st century. It will move Australia forward with fairness.

Tonight I would like to speak to those parts of the bill that I believe are most relevant to my electorate of Bennelong, because, in 2007, then Prime Minister John Howard fundamentally misread how Work Choices was hurting his own constituents. That misunderstanding cost him his seat and his government. Bennelong is representative of the nation. It has the same ambitions, the same expectations for fairness in the workplace. This legislation returns equilibrium to workplace relations. It will replace the Workplace Relations Act and the complicated Work Choices amendments introduced by the Howard government. For the first time, a diverse range of stakeholders, including unions, employer groups and state and territory workplace relations ministers, have been consulted and have participated in the drafting of a bill. Their input was invaluable and indicative of the government’s commitment to implementing a balanced and equitable workplace system. The Fair Work Bill is grounded in the corporations power of the Constitution and will create a truly national system.

The bill provides for a comprehensive two-part safety net which comprises National Employment Standards and modern awards. The National Employment Standards are 10 legislated employment conditions. Included in these, and of particular interest, is the new entitlement to request flexible working arrangements. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that, for 2008, some 96,000 mothers in the workforce are eligible to take advantage of this entitlement. The cost to the employer should be minimal and the practical implications will result in increased staff loyalty, productivity and retention. The new National Employment Standards also increase parental leave for both parents, as well as extending parental leave to same-sex couples for the first time. The new Employment Standards remove the 10-day cap on carers leave and provide for employers to offer make-up payments for community service leave such as jury duty.

The safety net also consists of new, modern awards which will add another 10 conditions to the National Employment Standards. The modern awards will be tailored to specific industries and occupations and will include a flexibility clause which allows for employers and employees to agree to flexible arrangements that meet both their needs. This will guarantee both worker protection and business productivity. The modern awards will instigate the return of legally enforceable minimum wages, which means that employers will no longer be able to strip away an employee’s entitlements without compensation. The modern awards will also provide for representation and dispute settlement opportunities. Importantly, the principal objective of the modern award and minimum wage is to strengthen the equal remuneration provisions—equal pay for equal work. This will address the ongoing issue of gender inequity which remains prevalent in many industries. Modern awards will be reviewed every four years and minimum wages will be reviewed annually. This will allow for minimum wage adjustments to be argued annually, based on social and economic factors. The combination of National Employment Standards and modern awards creates a flexible and stable safety net for employees and employers. It recognises the importance, and encourages the maintenance, of a work-family balance. The National Employment Standards and modern awards will come into effect on 1 January 2010.

There will also be a new institutional framework which will administer and regulate the new workplace relations system. Fair Work Australia will combine seven existing government agencies to provide efficient and effective assistance to employers and employees. It will incorporate the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman, who will promote cooperative workplace relations and provide education, assistance and advice. Fair Work Australia will conduct the reviews of the modern award every four years, and a specialist panel will review minimum wages. This will ensure that a fair safety net is maintained. Fair Work Australia will also set a national minimum wage order to provide minimum wages for all award-free employees. Importantly, Fair Work Australia will mediate, conciliate, deal with industrial action and unfair dismissal matters, approve agreements and assist with bargaining at the request of a party. If Fair Work Australia is unable to assist parties to reach a resolution, the matter will be dealt with by new, low-cost, informal processes in the Fair Work Divisions of the Federal Court and the Federal Magistrates Court. New powers will be granted to the courts to remedy breaches of the act. Fair Work Australia will offer a balance of arbitration and legal proceedings.

Importantly, the legislation allows Fair Work Australia to facilitate a special bargaining stream for low-paid employees. The low-paid stream is part of the Rudd government’s commitment to enterprise level collective bargaining. Employees in industries such as child care, community services, aged care, cleaning and security often have difficulty negotiating agreements with their employers, so the focus will be on as many as possible of these workers and businesses receiving the benefits of bargaining at the enterprise level.

The new workplace relations system also offers low-paid employees access to a multi-employer bargaining stream. This allows for agreements to be put in place across a number of employers and employees. Fair Work Australia will play an active role in ensuring that equitable agreements are reached. It will assess applications for multiple employer bargaining across a number of public interest criteria, taking into consideration the interests of both workers and employers. The process of assisted enterprise bargaining offers low-paid employees greater opportunities.

Similarly, Fair Work Australia must take consideration of the circumstances and the productivity of the businesses concerned. What this means for childcare workers, for example, is that a multi-employer agreement involving a number of employers could be negotiated which establishes flexibility for employees around hours, roster and pay increases, as well as considering productivity improvements. Fair Work Australia must find the balance that is acceptable for both employer and for employee.

The Rudd government’s commitment to enterprise level collective bargaining is oriented towards a balance between workers, unions and employers to secure protection. The Fair Work Bill establishes a new framework based on enforceable good faith bargaining. Fair Work Australia will have the power to intervene when negotiations between parties break down. The bill encourages productivity and fairness through enterprise bargaining which is tailored to the needs of businesses and workers. Agreements will be approved by the majority of employees to whom they will apply. Combined with the safety net, the bill ensures that employees covered by agreements will be better off overall. Agreements must pass the better off overall test. Agreements that fall below the standards and conditions set by the safety net will be brought up to those standards.

Another important aspect of the Fair Work Bill is the reinstatement of unfair dismissal rights for the majority of employees covered by awards and agreements, including high-income earners. The bill introduces special provisions for small businesses and removes the 100-employee exemption. New qualifying periods based on the size of the business are introduced to manage unfair dismissal claims by employees. This bill also introduces a small business Fair Dismissal Code which provides a step-by-step process for small businesses to keep dismissals fair. Fair Work Australia will determine whether dismissals are just or unreasonable and provide a more efficient and less formal process.

The final aspects of the Fair Work Bill I wish to discuss are the return of freedom of association and right of entry. These two aspects of the bill relate specifically to employees’ rights to be represented by a union or another third party of their choice. This bill ensures that employers respect employees’ rights to be represented by a union. It eliminates discrimination based on association and provides more effective remedies to discriminative acts. This bill re-establishes the right of union representatives to enter workplaces where they do and where they do not have members. It allows for union meetings to be held with members and nonmembers at appropriate times and places within the workplace. Union representatives will be required to provide employers with 24 hours notice of intended visits and behave in a fit and proper manner appropriate to their position as employee representatives.

The Fair Work Bill continues the rights of union representatives to investigate alleged breaches of workplace obligations. Union representatives will not be required to release the names and details of the members involved and will be allowed access to all records pertaining to the investigation. To guarantee the protection of all employees—members and nonmembers—this bill includes new provisions against the misuse of information and utilises the Privacy Act 1998 to make sure that employees’ personal information is protected. The bill formulates a fair and proper balance between the rights of employees to meet with their representatives and the rights of employers to manage their businesses without unwarranted interference.

In conclusion, as the year comes to a close, the Fair Work Bill 2008 signifies that the end is just the beginning. The Rudd government will continue to honour its election commitments. It will implement and monitor the new and democratised workplace relations system, which guarantees social inclusion for all Australian workers and economic prosperity for the nation. Moving Australia forward with fairness, the Rudd government will continue to meet the needs of the Australian people in the 21st century. I commend the Fair Work Bill 2008 to the House.

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