Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Pocock, yes! This happened to me last night, and I rise in continuance on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022. This is a bill that will deliver secure jobs and better pay for Australians. It's a bill that puts respect for women workers at the heart of our workplace laws. It's a bill that makes better wages a deliberate design feature of our government's agenda.

This bill is urgent, because working Australians deserve a better life right now. After 10 years of low wages as a design feature of economic policy of the previous government, we've seen a race to the bottom on wages and conditions across some of our most essential sectors, many of which are now facing unprecedented workforce shortages. These workers simply cannot afford to wait any longer, like early childhood educator Kylie Gray who told me that if her wages don't improve soon she will have to leave the sector that she loves after 15 years simply because she is losing hope and she can't afford to say. There are workers like security officer Pete Watkins, who has seen his wages fall over the past 10 years from seven per cent above the award back down to the award, all because security officers can't negotiate to protect wages across multiple employers today and they get undercut by dodgy security operators. Workers like Sheree Clark can't wait a day longer. She's been living in a caravan park, waiting for secure hours in her part-time contract in aged care—one of Australia's most essential sectors. She is waiting for secure hours so she can improve her income and sign a lease on a house. This is not how we should be treating our essential workers in Australia today. These workers can't afford to wait another day, let alone another 10 years, to see real change in their working lives.

Our current industrial relations system is broken and outdated. It's based on an economy that doesn't exist anymore. It's based on an economy that looked very different from today, and it's a system that is no longer delivering for employers or for employees. It's a system that locks out thousands of workers from the benefits of bargaining. All work is valuable, and every worker deserves a chance to have a seat at the table where they can be heard, where their experience and expertise are recognised, and where their work is valued. What this bill isn't about is conflict. This is actually about balance and it's about respect. It's about respect for the voice of working Australians, like the essential workers I just spoke about. It's also about respect for the needs of business. This bill is about getting the balance right to build a strong and fair economy that benefits everyone.

Just six months ago, we promised the people of Australia that if they elected Albanese Labor government we would get wages moving and we would deliver secure jobs. That's because we know that good, secure jobs mean better lives. We know that after 10 years of falling wages we can't afford wait another day. I'm proud that today we are getting on with the job: fixing a broken system, getting wages moving and delivering on our promise to deliver a better, brighter future based on good, secure jobs for all Australians. Thank you.

(Quorum formed)