Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for that, Senator Abetz. These amendments go further than restricting the right of entry than Work Choices did. We believe right of entry is a critical right of freedom of association in ensuring that employees’ rights and conditions at work are complied with by their employers. We note that the ILO Committee of Experts most recent general report which states:

The committee recalls that the right of trade union officers to have access to places of work and to communicate with management is a basic activity of trade unions which should not be subject to interference by the authorities and should not be limited to communication with “eligible” employees, as trade unions should be able to apprise non-unionised workers of the potential advantages of unionisation or of coverage by a collective agreement.

We note in a revised version of the amendments the restriction on the right of entry is limited to investigating suspected breaches. This still amounts to a fundamental breach of the right of freedom of association. If an employee is a member of a union they should be able to enjoy the benefits of that membership, and that includes the legitimate role of a union in enforcing their members’ entitlements.

We believe that these amendments would turn back our industrial relations system very significantly and, as I said, it goes even further than Work Choices dared to go in restricting the freedom of association of Australian workers. Let me be very clear: we will be not be supporting any of these amendments.