Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In September, the High Court ruled that Qantas had illegally sacked 1,700 workers at the height of the pandemic. This attempt to undermine legitimate prospective industrial action under the cover of the pandemic demonstrated their contempt for their own employees and indeed the very need to protect workers from acts of industrial bastardry just like this. Over several years Qantas has systemically decoupled its workforce from the organisation in an attempt to inflate unsustainable short-term profit margins at the expense of their greatest asset—their people. At every opportunity, they've outsourced their workforce, creating a web of 21 external companies and a further 17 subsidiaries, designed to avoid enterprise bargaining and dictate wages through labour hire loopholes.

In a recent public hearing of the House Committee on Economics, I asked Andrew Finch, Qantas's general counsel in the office of the CEO, how they ensured workers in this extraordinarily complex web were afforded proper pay and conditions, decent pay and conditions, how they looked after their own people, the people that look after us when we fly with them. He responded very tellingly that they require only that their supply chain comply with the law—the very bare basic law. Given their demonstrated contempt for our industrial relations laws, it is unsurprisingly clear that relying on businesses like Qantas to simply do the right thing by their own employees is not good enough and it's not working. In fact, he even went on to arrogantly defend Qantas's prioritisation of their commercial interests ahead of their legal responsibilities to their workers. This legislation will close the labour hire loopholes that companies like Qantas use to undercut pay and conditions for Australian workers.

While Qantas was found to be in breach of our existing laws on this occasion, too often companies get away with similar tactics. After negotiating and agreeing on a fair rate of pay and conditions with their workers, they bring in low-paid, contracted, labour hire workers who aren't covered by that agreement. Of course, we recognise the legitimate role that labour hire plays in providing surge and specialist workforces, and this bill won't prevent companies from using them. It will simply prevent them from using labour hire to circumvent agreed industrial instruments. It'll give the Fair Work Commission the power to order labour hire employees be paid at least the same wages in a company's enterprise agreement and deliver on the Albanese Labor government's Same Job, Same Pay commitment.

The labour hire loophole is just one of many that this bill will address. Despite some of the fearmongering and the hyperbole and the contributions from the Liberals opposite, it's absolutely not a radical piece of legislation. It is simply about bringing our workplace relations laws up to speed with modern economic settings. We know that our economy has evolved significantly over the past decade with changes to workforce employment patterns, an increased dependence on global supply chains and the emergence of the gig economy. Unfortunately, the previous Liberal government were asleep at the wheel as these changes were taking place and our industrial relations laws have not kept pace. We've seen that as our economy and technology evolve so too do the terms of workforce engagement. It is therefore essential that the laws governing these engagements also continue to evolve in order to protect the fundamental rights of workers.

We understand that hundreds of thousands of Australians rely on the gig economy for work. That's why these reforms are so important. Workers on these platforms shouldn't have to choose between minimum workplace standards and flexibility. No industry should be able to inflate profits by underpaying their workers or failing to provide safe working conditions under the false guise of flexibility. The reality with many workplace arrangements in the gig economy is that ultimate flexibility is afforded to the platform. Gig economy providers enjoy flexibility regarding their obligations to their workforce, they enjoy flexibility with the rates of pay for workers and they enjoy the benefits of a one-sided workforce marketplace. By largely underpaying their workers, they ensure that demand for their jobs remains high as desperate gig workers try to earn a living wage. When this exploitative, open-marketplace approach does occasionally tip in the workers' favour, such as during peak demand times like on a Saturday night, these platforms simply threaten workers with deactivation, essentially forcing them to work or risk losing access to their livelihood ongoing.

A survey conducted by the McKell Institute in conjunction with the Transport Workers Union found that 56 per cent of food delivery drivers had felt pressured to rush or take risks to earn enough and avoid deactivation. Not only that, the survey found that two-thirds of full-time gig workers earned less than the minimum wage and that 45 per cent have struggled to afford basic necessities like groceries and household bills. This means that, too often, gig workers are forced to work a huge number of hours every week, while all the time battling dangerous fatigue and facing the threat of deactivation. While the flexibility of the gig economy is often spruiked by platforms, the reality is that there is no flexibility for a workforce that can't afford not to work. That's why this legislation is so important—to ensure that minimum workplace standards are afforded to these workers and to ensure that the gig economy can operate sustainably into the future.

Under this proposal, the Fair Work Commission can set minimum standards for independent contractors working in the gig economy who have one or more employee-like characteristics, such as low bargaining power, low authority over their work or being paid at or below the rate of comparable employees. This ensures that basic protections are provided to vulnerable gig economy workers, while also not capturing those people who truly enjoy the potential benefits of contract work, such as real flexibility and autonomy over their work. Employee-like workers will also be protected against unfair deactivation under this legislation. They'll be able to apply to the Fair Work Commission to order a reinstatement if they feel that their deactivation was unfair, ensuring that workers cannot be punished for embracing the flexibility that the gig economy celebrates and promises them.

In addition to changes for gig workers, this legislation will enable the Fair Work Commission to set minimum standards for the broader road transport industry. Already, tragically, more than 150 people have died in Australia this year in truck crashes, devastating families and communities across our nation. The increasingly thin margins in road transport and logistics are creating a race to the bottom as enormous pressure is placed on drivers to make more deliveries more quickly. Not only is this dangerous for workers and other road users—and it is dangerous for both—but it is also threatening the viability of many operators in the industry. In the last financial year alone, 347 companies in the industry became insolvent, and many more are struggling on. Meanwhile, in a survey of employee drivers, one in four reported being pressured to drive past legal hours and skipped mandated rest breaks. One in five had been pressured to speed to meet deadlines, and one in five had been pressured to falsify their logbooks. Clearly, drivers and their employers are suffering. This legislation will help to turn this trajectory around. The creation of enforceable minimum standards in the industry will ensure that companies are unable to undercut each other by undercutting the pay and conditions of their own workers. It will enable those who do the right thing to compete, while also protecting drivers and the workforce more broadly.

The closing loopholes bill also delivers a new pathway for casual workers to seek permanent employment. There are over 850,000 casual workers who have regular work arrangements but who are employed as casuals without the benefit of leave entitlements or any sense of true financial security. Of course, some workers prefer casual employment, and they won't be forced to convert to permanent staff if they don't want to. However, for the workers that want and need the security and assurance that comes with permanent work arrangements, this change is absolutely essential. It allows casual employees who believe their working arrangements have changed so that they no longer meet the definition of 'casual' to seek a conversion to permanent employment. The option will be available to employees of large and medium-sized businesses after six months of casual employment and to employees of small businesses after 12 months of casual employment. Unlike the existing casual conversion pathway—which will remain—the new employee choice pathway is entirely employee driven. It empowers employees to seek the employment status that most accurately reflects the reality of their work arrangements. Importantly, despite the alarmism from those opposite, it does not affect the legitimately casual workforce that many Australian businesses rely on. It will, however, stop businesses from unfairly expecting and requiring permanent and regular commitments from staff without offering them a pathway to the job security that they so dearly deserve.

The changes in this bill are long overdue. For nine years, our industrial relations system stalled at the hands of the Liberals while our economy rapidly evolved, and the consequences upon workers, families and communities were massive. Workers went backwards as wages were deliberately suppressed, and we had our worst decade for productivity in over half a century. The reality is that the Liberals are ideologically opposed to higher wages and better conditions for Australian workers. They're opposed to workers getting their fair share of the dividends from Australia's economic pie. Former finance minister Mathias Cormann even admitted that low wage growth was part of the Liberal's economic plan. This approach not only left Australian workers worse off but it damaged our economy. While real unit labour costs fell by approximately 10 per cent under the former government, labour productivity growth also slowed materially for the first time in decades. By eroding pay and conditions, the Liberals were undermining the long-term efficiency of our labour market to inflate short-term business profit margins. That's why this legislation is so badly needed, not just to improve the pay and conditions of Australian workers but to restore some balance in the labour market. We need to move back towards an efficient equilibrium that realises the maximum productivity potential of Australian workers in the Australian economy.

This legislation was the result of countless hours of work by so many people. I want to acknowledge the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations for his tireless efforts, as well as the ACTU and the broader union movement for their fierce advocacy over the years. In particular I want to acknowledge my friends from my union, the Transport Workers Union of Australia. They have been on the front line of the fight against the loopholes that this legislation seeks to address. It was the TWU that took Qantas to the High Court, refusing to accept their unlawful use of labour hire and winning compensation—and, importantly, winning dignity—for the 1,700 workers who were illegally sacked. The TWU has fought for gig workers in food delivery and transport, signing charters with major gig companies to lift standards, and fighting for compensation for the families of delivery riders who have, tragically, been killed while working. I want to give a special shout out to Mem Suleyman and Mike McNess from the TWU Vic-Tas branch, as well as Michael Caine and Nick McIntosh from the TWU national office. I have seen firsthand the blood, sweat and tears that these people have poured into defending their members and, indeed, all Australian workers—particularly when the former Liberal government abdicated all responsibility. I'm so proud to be part of a government that stands alongside them—the TWU and the entire union movement—in standing up for Australian workers, their pay and their conditions and, indeed, their safety. Every worker, regardless of the terms of their engagement, deserves fair pay and conditions. For those reasons I commend this bill to the House.

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