Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to my good friend Senator Ciccone. It's a great question on the issue that matters to all Australians, that being their wages. All year in parliament we've focused on the No. 1 issue facing Australians, that being the cost of living, and helping to lift wages is a crucial part of that. The Albanese Labor government is deliberately trying to lift wages and create more jobs to help Australians deal with cost-of-living pressures. Workers in factories and warehouses and workers on construction sites and the shop floor are doing it tough right now, which is why this government is committed to improving their wages after 10 years of the Liberals deliberately keeping wages low.

One of the changes we've made to help working people is closing the labour hire loophole to make sure labour hire workers get a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. That is something those opposite continually opposed, both when they were in government and now in opposition.

I'm pleased to say that Metcash labour hire workers are the latest Australian workers to get the pay rise they deserve. At a warehouse operated by Metcash in South Australia, labour hire workers were required to attend the same meetings as direct employees and undertake the same training as direct employees. They worked the same rosters as direct employees and did the same duties as direct employees. But, despite all of that, they were being paid up to $15,000 less per year than direct Metcash employees, and that all was allowed under the coalition's laws.

But, as of yesterday, because Labor closed the loophole—the one you voted against—that allowed those workers to be underpaid, those labour hire workers will now be earning the same as direct employees. One worker, Tyler, said, 'For six months I've been doing the same job as workers who were directly employed by Metcash, but I haven't been paid the same; this decision means that, for the first time, I'll be paid fairly for the work I do.' Under Labor, workers will earn more and keep more of what they earn; under the Liberals, they'll work longer for less. (Time expired)