Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

In relation to Forward with Fairness the government provided that modern awards could provide industry-specific detail on the National Employment Standards, which is the policy implementation plan of August 2007. Consistent with this promise the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations signed an award modernisation request to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on 28 March 2008 which enabled the commission to include an industry-specific redundancy scheme in a modern award.

Where the commission includes an industry-specific redundancy scheme in a modern award, the Fair Work Bill provides at clause 123(4) that the redundancy pay entitlements in the National Employment Standards do not apply. This is not about creating new schemes; rather, it is about ensuring that industry-specific redundancy schemes can continue where they are an established feature of an industry. Industry-specific redundancy schemes are a longstanding feature of some industries and provide important assistance to employees.

For example, in the building and construction industry, the Western Australian Construction Industry Redundancy Fund has been operating for 16 years. In Queensland, BERT has been operating since 1989. In the building and construction industry an employer makes a weekly contribution to a fund and, when an employee’s employment ends for any reason other than misconduct, the employee can draw on the fund and the payment is beneficially taxed as a termination payment. These schemes recognise the special nature of the building industry. Under the traditional definition of ‘redundancy’ an employee would not be considered redundant when a project ends; however, employees in these circumstances need to be able to receive payments until the next project commences, and these schemes allow for such payments. I am aware that the commission is considering submissions from stakeholders on the issue in relation to stage 2 exposure draft modern awards, particularly in respect of the building and construction industry, prior to making a final modern award on 3 April 2009.

Amendment (1) amends clause 12, which contains the definition of industry-specific redundancy schemes, to ensure that the full range of such schemes may be included in modern awards. However, the commission should have regard to the terms of the minister’s award modernisation request and to the existing award provisions, including those notional agreements preserving state awards when including an industry-specific redundancy scheme in a modern award. It is for the stakeholders to make submissions to the commission on the factors the commission may have regard to in determining whether to include an industry-specific scheme in a modern award. These factors when considered in total are whether the scheme is no less beneficial to employees in the industry than the redundancy provisions in the NES, and whether the scheme is an established feature of the relevant industry. This amendment gives effect to what clearly amounts to the policy intent of the government.