Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

Saturdays off. This is about choice, whereas, when you have a look at some of the awards that the trade unions negotiated—including, may I add, the one for the media in this country—public holidays and other things were wiped out for an increase in wages, and they have to work on those days.

If that is what workers want to do, that is their good luck. If they do not want to, we are putting into the workplace system the possibility of flexibility. I simply say to the workers of this country: if you are a good worker, like the vast, overwhelming majority of workers are, you have nothing to fear from approaching your boss, exercising choice and asking for flexibility, because the vast majority of employers in this country know that their greatest asset is the Australian workforce. That is why we have seen productivity levels go up. We are saying—