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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Ludwig. Why has there been an 800 per cent increase in strikes in the first six months of the Rudd Labor government?

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Rudd government is pleased to be able to stand up and talk about fairness in industrial relations. The Liberals have been a bit flat since Work Choices went under the wheel. Nevertheless, the government believes that industrial disputes are serious. The government’s Forward with Fairness policy explicitly states that the government will have clear, tough rules about industrial action. The government recognises the impact that industrial action can have on working families, businesses, communities and the Australian economy.

Under the Rudd Labor government industrial action will be protected in only limited circumstances: during bargaining for a collective enterprise agreement and following a mandatory secret ballot. Industrial action in pursuit of pattern bargaining will be unlawful. The regulations of secondary boycotts will stay in the Trade Practices Act 1974. If unprotected action is taken, ready access to effective remedies will be available to affected parties. As has been previously noted, the number of collective agreements due to be renegotiated in the first half of 2008 increased significantly compared with the same period in the previous year. This can be attributed to people locking in their collective agreements before Work Choices took effect in March 2006. The number of significant actions is not surprising. Before Work Choices came in, people locked into certified agreements to ensure that they could get through Work Choices. They were hopeful that the Rudd Labor government would be successful and would destroy Work Choices. They understood the unfairness that Work Choices brought. They understood that thousands of working mums and dads and people out there in the community would be stripped of conditions and pay through Work Choices.

Overall, industrial disputes have declined since 1993. Working days lost per 1,000 employees declined from 26.4 in 2005 to 14.9 in 2006 and then to 5.4 in 2007. For the June quarter 2008, there were 60 disputes—up from 39 in the March quarter of 2008. Working days lost per 1,000 employees have increased to 9.2 in the June quarter 2008—up from about 4.6 in the March 2008 quarter. That is from the ABS industrial dispute data for the June quarter 2008. What the Liberals have to understand is that this increase includes a high level of continued industrial action in the education, health and community services areas. One of the things that the Liberals have failed to recognise is that, as a consequence of their Work Choices, people had delayed enterprise bargaining and they had locked in certified agreements. As part of the overall bargaining process, when certified agreements now come up people can take protected industrial action for their certified agreements. What this government stands for is to ensure that we do have fairness in the industrial relations system, fairness that ensures that working mums and dads can get the outcomes— (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I note the minister sought to justify the 800 per cent increase in strikes in the first six months of the Rudd Labor government as being the result of enterprise agreement negotiations. Does he agree with the Australian Bureau of Statistics data which show that 74 per cent of the strikes in the last six months had nothing to do whatsoever with agreement making? Will the minister now correct the record and tell us why there has been this 800 per cent increase? You cannot hide behind agreement making.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I reject the propositions put by Senator Abetz in this place. Senator Abetz knows that Work Choices stripped conditions and stripped money from people’s pockets. That is what Work Choices did—and this Liberal opposition are still signed up to Work Choices. They still want to ensure that Work Choices drives down wages and drives down productivity. What this government wants to do is ensure that we have a fair industrial relations system that encourages productivity.

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

Mr President, on a point of order: the supplementary question was very specific in relation to the false numbers that the minister provided in his original answer. The Australian Bureau of Statistics puts the lie to the minister’s assertion—and I asked him specifically about that. He can go on a bash with regard to the coalition but it does not answer the question.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order: as you know, Senator Abetz, I cannot tell the minister how to answer the question. I draw the minister’s attention to the relevance of the question. Senator Ludwig, you have 20 seconds in which to answer the question.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I could take longer than 20 seconds but if that is all I have got let me say that what the Liberals do not like is my talking about how unfair their Work Choices legislation was, how it ripped conditions from ordinary working mums and dads and how it ensured that those people would suffer under their Work Choices legislation. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.