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

I thank the senator for her supple­mentary question. As we promised the Australian people, the government have ended the take it or leave it AWAs that stripped away wages and conditions such as penalty rates. By introducing the Fair Work Act we have established a fair safety net for employees, one part being the modern industry awards. These awards enshrine entitlements tailored to the specific needs of workers in businesses in a particular industry. Importantly, these modern awards contain entitlements like penalty rates for workers who spend time working on week­ends, public holidays or doing shiftwork.

We are proud that our system supports fair compensation for those people working unsociable hours. The Fair Work Act introduced a new better off overall test for new enterprise agreements. That test ensures that Australian workers have their entitle­ments, including penalty rates, protected. We protect their standard of living through our industrial relations legislation. (Time expired)

Senator Cormann interjecting—