Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to start today by acknowledging a shining light of our community—it's a pity the minister's gone—who recently passed away. Lou Williams was a fierce advocate for those suffering from mesothelioma, or asbestos cancer. Her drive and commitment will be truly missed. Lou was exposed to asbestos as a child in the 1970s and lost her father to mesothelioma in 1985. She battled cancer for 15 years. She was a tough fighter who worked tirelessly for other sufferers to have PBS access to much-needed medication, especially Keytruda. Lou championed Keytruda as she knew the benefits of it firsthand from her own experience. The electorate of McEwen and all Australians are so incredibly lucky to have had such a dedicated, bold and empowering advocate for those impacted by mesothelioma. Despite her health issues, Lou would always have a smile and a chat. Lou will be forever missed in our community.

On another note, I would like to speak about an important issue that touches both on health care and the rights of workers, and that is Dorevitch Pathology's unjust practices towards its hardworking staff. Dorevitch is one of the leading pathology providers for doctors, specialists and hospitals around Victoria. What people don't know is that Dorevitch Pathology has a shocking track record when it comes to the conditions of its staff. The enterprise agreement that the workers have been working with has been expired for 10 years. For 10 years this company has been fighting against the rights of workers to have decent conditions and decent pay. For 10 years it's been able to drag its feet in negotiations, during which time some of the workers have been earning just the bare minimum modern award rate, and in which time a full-time worker has been earning up to $7,000 less per annum than the pathology industry standard. The HWU says that Dorevitch would need to increase its wages by 28 per cent just to match the minimum wage increase over the past 10 years. And what has it offered in the EBA? Nothing—a big, fat zero per cent increase.

The injustices don't end there. Dorevitch has outright refused to allow for a clause that will force it to begin bargaining for their next agreement six months prior to its expiration date. While it refuses to come to the bargaining table, it is busy finding other ways to exploit its hardworking employees. How? In an industry which has provided good sick leave, Dorevitch is actually proposing to reduce sick leave entitlements by over 50 per cent. Dorevitch staff, like others in the health industry, are routinely exposed to transmissible illness in their workplaces. But instead of doing what's right, Dorevitch turns a blind eye. Instead of acknowledging the risks that its staff are exposed to, it simply wants more bang for its buck. This is a company that has a net profit after tax of $104 million.

Once again, the appalling practices don't stop there. Just last year, the HWU caught Dorevitch unfairly dismissing a staff member, claiming she refused a drug test. Not only did she not refuse a drug test but the Fair Work Commission found that the test breached the national standards on urine drug testing and Dorevitch's own drug testing policy. The Fair Work Commission heard cases where Dorevitch management had deliberately bullied or intimidated staff who wanted to support workplace rights. Unsurprisingly, Dorevitch was sanctioned. But it's too little, too late. Dorevitch staff have had enough. On Tuesday this week, 500 HWU members at Dorevitch went on strike. As of right now, 89 union activists have been locked out indefinitely. HWU members have been on strike for 48 hours and will continue until next Tuesday.

But, you know, this is where it gets interesting, and it happens with these big companies that just want to bully and intimidate their workers. What was Dorevitch's peace offering? What do you think it would do to people who are fighting to get wages so they can put food on the table and pay their bills?

This multinational, multimillion dollar company offered their employees a gingerbread cookie. They expected that that would make all things reasonable and be a compromise for poor working conditions. It's just another example of companies taking advantage of workers on this government's watch. At this time, while these people are fighting to keep wages above the poverty line, the Prime Minister gives himself a $16,000 pay rise. These people working just want to keep up with the cost of living, put food on the table and pay their bills. It is not fair that big companies treat people like this, and we are not going to stand for it. It is time the government got a spine and started looking after working Australians.