Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I move opposition amendment (7):

(7)    Schedule 5, page 66 (after line 11), at the end of the Schedule, add:

Part 7—State-based differences

Workplace Relations Act 1996

22  Section 576T

Repeal the section, substitute:

576T  Terms that contain State-based differences

        (1)    For a period of 5 years starting on the day on which a modern award commences, the award is to reflect the State and Territory differences in previously existing awards.

        (2)    If, at the end of the period of 5 years starting on the day on which a modern award commences, the modern award includes terms and conditions of employment that:

             (a)    are determined by reference to State or Territory boundaries; or

             (b)    do not have effect in each State and Territory;

those terms and conditions cease to have effect at the end of that period.

        (3)    The Commission may reduce the 5 year period referred to in subsection (1) only if it is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so, having regard to:

             (a)    the views of the sector which the modern award is intended to cover; and

             (b)    the impact on employment within the sector which the modern award is intended to cover.

This amendment repeals the existing provisions and requires that modern awards are required to retain state based differences for a period of five years from when the modern award takes effect. This makes the five-year transition period the default position to be adopted by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission when making modern wards while affording it discretion to work to a lesser period where appropriate and having regard to the views of the affected parties and jobs within the relevant sector.

We believe that the amendment will work in the following way: the AIRC will be required when making a modern award to hear the views of the sector about the timing of phasing out state based differences and, in addition, about the impact on employment, which in our view is a very important consideration. After taking these matters into account, the commission may phase out state based differences over any period it sees fit with the default period being a maximum of five years. There may be a lesser period stipulated if the impact on employment is negligible and the parties are happy to phase out any differences in a lesser period. For example, the retail sector may say: ‘We will have an increase in overtime penalties on Sundays by 25 per cent. At the moment, given the current economic situation, that would cause us to lose staff or reduce trading times. Let’s transition in the penalty rate equally at an additional five per cent over five years.’ The retail sector may also say. ‘Let’s transition it at zero per cent in year 1, two per cent in year 2, three per cent in year 3, 10 per cent in year 4 and 10 per cent in year 5.’

Other sectors, such as mining, for example, already have a federal award, and the impact of award modernisation may be negligible. The sector may agree that the impact on employment is also minimal and that the award should come into total effect straightaway.

The ability to phase out the state based differences, or transitioning, is referred to at item 12 of the latest award modernisation request. The AIRC has set aside specific time to hear from sectors about the timing of transition. Therefore it just seems to the coalition to make sense to provide that flexibility to ensure that we do not have a further attack on the cost of employment in this country.