Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Skills) Share this | Hansard source

When it comes to industrial relations and helping workers, this government is all talk and no action. We live at a time of great uncertainty for the workforce. With five per cent unemployment and another eight per cent underemployed, almost one in six Australian workers is actually poor. For those in work, insecurity is at an all-time high. More than 40 per cent of the workforce is in casual, contract or gig-economy style work. We now have many people working multiple jobs. Tragically, 16 per cent of Australians now have to work three or more jobs just to make ends meet. Worse still, sham contracting is rife. We all know the example of the cleaner employed to clean floors of a multistorey building one day and then forced to become an independent contractor to clean the same floors the next. They have the same job, the same hours, the same employer, but now they have less pay and have to assume the costs of running their own business. It's a sham. And the law ought to change to ensure that it is seen as such. Like the wolf in sheep's clothing, this government cosies up to workers, saying, 'I'm here to help.' But the reality is they do nothing to change the law to make work more permanent, or to give casuals the right to convert to permanent work after six months, or to end sham contracting. All they ever do is undermine the existing supports that workers have. The two supports for workers' rights are strong laws, and rigorous enforcement, and their trade unions.

On both counts, this government is missing in action. Apart from union action to recover wages, it is the Fair Work Ombudsman that is the main point of advice, guidance and prosecution in the system. Yet the first action of an incoming Liberal government in 2013 was to slash the Commonwealth contributions to the Fair Work Ombudsman's budget by more than 10 per cent. Since then, revelations of wage theft have become widespread. From 7-Eleven to famous restaurateurs, our papers are filled daily with examples of employer abuse. The Fair Work Ombudsman prosecutes some of the most egregious cases, but these are very few in number and usually because United Voice or another union has gained media exposure. Usually, there are repayment agreements and consent orders, but businesses are not prosecuted. No wonder wage theft continues unabated.

Just like the financial sector, light-touch regulation has failed our workers. The plethora of media cases seems to have finally had an impact on the government. In July, the Prime Minister said in question time that the Attorney-General was drafting laws to deal with criminalising worker exploitation. But where are those laws? And where are the additional resources that would be needed to lodge more civil cases against employers and to prepare for criminal cases should the government ever get around to putting the promised laws to parliament?

This 2019-20 budget shows a miserly increase in resources for the Fair Work Ombudsman. Where are the additional resources for workplace inspections? Where are the additional facilities to assist workers at the doors of the small claims court? On the other hand, this government continues to pour resources into the Australian Building and Construction Commission—more than $77 million for a punitive watchdog in an industry employing just eight per cent of the national workforce and less than three per cent of commercial building. The ABCC doesn't give a flying toss about underpayment of workers or subbies or not being paid by principal contractors, or occupational health and safety issues.

Compare the ABCC budget to the total $184 million Commonwealth contribution towards the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Registered Organisations Commission for 2019 and 2020. The ombudsman looks after the interests of all workers across all industries but especially the most vulnerable workers, young workers, those on visas and from non-English-speaking backgrounds, who we know are ruthlessly exploited, those in hospitality and retail and those in the regions. Yet this government refuses to properly resource the Fair Work Ombudsman. The Fair Work Commission budget has increased by less than inflation. The budget will be stretched to breaking point, with the appointment late last year of six of the government's employer mates as deputy presidents at $460,000 each year. Those six appointments cost $3 million. They were totally unnecessary. It was simply a government, thinking they would lose the election, trying to desperately stack the commission. The $3 million would have gone a long way to helping employ inspectors or giving a lot more information to workers. Instead, we got the government's political mates stacked into the commission.

My question is: when will the government properly resource the Fair Work Ombudsman, and when will they start funding the real needs of workers, who are being exploited in their thousands, rather than the punitive watchdogs like the ROC and the ABCC?

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