Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I am happy to report on the progress of the Fair Work Act and thank Senator Marshall for his question. The Senate would be aware that, following very lengthy public consideration of the issues involved, in 2009 the federal government returned fairness and balance to the industrial relations landscape in Australia when we introduced the Fair Work Act. With its strong provisions to regulate industrial relations and restore fairness the act is working well and delivering low levels of industrial disputation and high levels of agreement making.

I am pleased that thousands of employers and their employees are getting on with the business of bargaining under the Fair Work Act. The total number of enterprise agree­ments reached is at a record level. Almost 24,000 current agreements are in place, covering 2.4 million Australian employees. Interestingly, during this period wages growth in the private sector has remained constrained. The recent wage price index figure shows a continued trend of contained growth. The wage price index for the March 2011 quarter rose by 0.8 percent, which made an annual increase of 3.8 percent. Also, the levels of industrial disputation continue to fall, following the long-term trend. ABS March quarter data confirms that continuing trend. The number of days lost in the March quarter was down again from the previous December quarter.

In addition to delivering fairness in the workplace the Fair Work Act is seeing reduced levels of industrial disputation and constrained wages growth but record agreement making among employers and employees. By all of the independent evidence the Fair Work Act is delivering good and fair outcomes in the context of good economic progress.