Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, upon notice, on 12 April 2011:

(1) How many former Maritime Union of Australia officials are now employed as Fair Work Inspectors?

(2) Has any back pay been sought, or ordered and paid by foreign shipping companies to the Fair Work Ombudsman; if so:

(a) how much;

(b) to how many workers has this money been distributed;

(c) how much money is held pending the tracing of the workers' whereabouts; and

(d) given that these workers are likely to be overseas, what efforts have been made by the Ombudsman to ascertain their whereabouts?

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

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

(1) The Fair work Ombudsman is not aware that any of its Fair Work Inspectors are former Maritime Union of Australia officials. Nor does the Agency retain records of Fair Work Inspectors' prior union membership. The Fair Work Ombudsman is committed to respecting staff members' privacy. The Fair Work Ombudsman does not collect and record personal information unless the personal information is collected for a lawful purpose that is directly related to a function or activity of the Fair Work Ombudsman and the collection of that personal information is necessary for, or directly related to, that purpose.

(2) No.