Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) together as circulated in my name:

(1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 3, column headed "Provisions"), omit "2, 3 and 4", substitute "2, 3, 3A and 4".

(2) Page 15 (after line 8), after Schedule 3, insert:

Schedule 3A—Protecting take -home pay

Fair Work Act 2009

1 Section 12 (definition of reduction in take -home pay)

Repeal the definition, substitute:

reduction in take -home pay:

(a) in relation to the cessation of copied State awards—see subsection 768BR(3); and

(b) in relation to the variation of modern awards—see subsection 135A(5).

2 Section 12 (definition of take -home pay)

Repeal the definition, substitute:

take -home pay:

(a) in relation to the cessation of copied State awards—see subsection 768BR(2); and

(b) in relation to the variation of modern awards—see subsection 135A(4).

3 At the end of Division 2 of Part 2 -3

Add:

135A Protecting take -home pay

Object of this section

(1) The object of this section is to ensure that no employee's, or prospective employee's, take-home pay is reduced as a result of a variation of a modern award.

FWC cannot reduce take -home pay

(2) A modern award cannot be varied in a way that would, or would be likely to, reduce the take-home pay of any employee covered by the award.

Determinations reducing take -home pay of no effect

(3) A determination of the FWC made on or after 22 February 2017 that would, or would be likely to, have the effect of reducing the take-home pay of any employee covered by a modern award is of no effect.

Definition of take -home pay

(4) The take-home pay of an employee covered by a modern award is the pay the employee actually receives, or would receive if increases in the modern award minimum wage were included in the employee's pay:

(a) including wages and incentive-based payments, and additional amounts such as allowances and overtime; but

(b) disregarding the effect of any deductions that are made as permitted by section 324.

Note: Deductions permitted by section 324 may (for example) include deductions under salary sacrificing arrangements.

Definition of reduction in take -home pay

(5) An employee covered by a modern award suffers a reduction in take-home pay through a variation of the award if the amount of the employee's take-home pay for working particular hours or for a particular quantity of work would be less after the variation than it would have been before.

This bill goes to a series of matters, but the amendments moved by Labor will actually improve this bill because it will respond to the real dangers of people losing money on Sunday week. We are going to see up to 700,000 people lose money as a result of the decision by the Fair Work Commission to cut wages for hospitality and retail workers. We are going to see that happen if we, the parliament, do not enact legislation to prevent that from happening.

This amendment, of course, is similar to the efforts by the opposition to remedy this problem—remedy and rectify a decision of the commission. Therefore, these amendments are very significant indeed. They are significant because it will stop those workers losing real income as a result of the decision of the commission. This is at a time, of course, when the government seeks to increase taxes on those same workers who actually receive less than $87,000 a year. So it is an important amendment. It is something that every member in this place should support because of the importance of the amendments to this bill.

I might add, it is similar to a bill that was passed in the Senate on 30 March and yet has not passed this place. These are very important amendments. We call upon the parliament to support them. If the government supports the opposition amendments, as circulated, then we will see those workers who will be adversely affected not affected as a result of these changes to this bill.

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