John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I seek the indulgence of the chair to add to an answer I gave yesterday and an answer I gave today.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister may proceed.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday in question time the member for Perth asked whether I was:

… aware that the Australian workplace agreement that Martin Donnelly electrical services employees are required to sign provides that payment of bonuses, overtime, loadings, penalties or other allowances is at the sole discretion of the company, a multistorey allowance is removed and there is no guarantee of a pay increase during the … life of the agreement?

That was the proposition that was put to me yesterday in question time by the member for Perth.

After carefully checking the member for Perth’s assertions, it turns out that the facts reveal a different story. I am advised that the member for Perth’s claims that bonuses, overtime, penalties and allowances were payable only at the company’s discretion are wrong. The agreement, which clearly states that it must be read in conjunction with the individual letter of offer of employment, states that the overtime rates and annual leave loadings are payable, as is the leading hand allowance, the motor vehicle allowance, the on-call allowance and the Christmas on-call allowance. In addition, the fares allowance under the AWA is $30 a day compared with $20 a day under the EBA. This is an increase of more than 30 per cent.

Further, the member for Perth claimed that there was no wage increase in the life of the agreement. This is also not true. The current EBA hourly rate of pay for a grade 5A electrician—or, as the member for Perth calls him, a sparky—on a 38-hour week is $23.98 an hour. The letter of offer provides for a grade 5 electrician hourly rate of pay at 38 hours a week of $30.02 an hour. Additionally there are further increases provided for by the letter of offer—that is, a 5.5 per cent increase on the first anniversary of employment and a further 4½ per cent increase on the second anniversary of employment. I am advised that a comparison of the current EBA against the proposed AWA indicates that over a standard 38-hour week a grade 5 electrician—or, as the member for Perth puts it, a sparky—under the AWA will be at least $150 a week better off.

Can I add to a question asked by the member for Watson. He was asking me a question about the gentlemen employed by Lakeside Packaging. I might just record for the benefit of the House that the average salary of a 457 visa holder is $66,200 a year. The 457 visa is not a cheap option for employers, given the cost of recruiting from overseas. Further, the government introduced the minimum salary level for 457 visa holders, which is set at $57,300 for information and communication technology professionals and $41,850 for all other professionals.