House debates
Thursday, 10 August 2006
Questions without Notice
Workplace Relations
2:14 pm
Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and follows on from his answer to the previous question. It relates to the Lufthansa subsidiary Global Tele Sales’ AWA and his reference to the performance bonus and the Victorian Workplace Rights Advocate. I refer the minister to his statement in which he said:
The Advocate reports that there has been a reduction in the base pay offered in the AWA of between 3% to 10%.
More critically he found a bonus system had been introduced that offers up to 16% per annum—enabling employees to earn up to a net 13% increase in wages.
David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The member for Perth will come to his question.
Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Minister, isn’t it the case that the Victorian Workplace Rights Advocate actually reported:
And he concluded:
In my view this does not provide employees with the certainty they should expect ... in circumstances where their base rates of pay are being reduced and penalty rates are being reduced and/or abolished.
Why won’t the minister just admit that these employees will be worse off under the government’s wages race to the bottom?
Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thank the member for Perth for his question. If the proposition advanced by the member for Perth were correct, the reality would be that workers would not be taking up these AWAs.
Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Ms Plibersek interjecting
Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The workers at this particular business have a choice of taking this AWA or remaining on their collective agreement.
Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Ms King interjecting
David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The member for Ballarat is warned!
Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
So what we have here is another indication from the member for Perth and the Australian Labor Party that individual Australian workers should not have the opportunity to make a choice for an industrial instrument—
Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Ms Plibersek interjecting
Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
that will make them better off. As I said earlier, this is the bizarre and twisted situation which the Labor Party has got itself into: it wants to rip up an industrial instrument that enables tens if not hundreds of thousands of Australian workers to actually be better off and to make a choice for that. But on top of that, if there was something so bad about these particular provisions, I am trying to remember when I heard a complaint from the member for Perth about, for example, the CFMEU and Dunlop Bedding Victoria enterprise bargaining agreement 2005—
Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Stephen Smith interjecting
David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The member for Perth has asked his question.
Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
which contains similar provisions to those in the Lufthansa agreement. Did I hear anything? Did anybody hear anything from the member for Perth about an agreement negotiated by the CFMEU which contains like conditions? No, nothing whatsoever. This again exposes the total hypocrisy of the Labor Party on this subject.