Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Isn't it great to hear from the National Party saying how much they care for the bush, when the bush in New South Wales understand that the National Party actually left any resemblance of support for the bush in New South Wales long ago! The Orange by-election demonstrated what they think of the National Party in New South Wales—that is, not much.

I want to go to the issue I stood on today. In June this year, the Griffin Coal company in Collie Western Australian was successful in an application to terminate its existing workplace agreement, which covered approximately 70 maintenance workers represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union. As a result, maintenance workers have had their pay and conditions cut to the minimum standards in the award. Griffin Coal and parent company Lanco have deliberately stalled negotiations on a new agreement and then sought orders to terminate the old agreement, thereby forcing workers onto minimum wages and conditions. For these workers, this has meant a reduction of 40 per cent in their base pay—a drop on average of $50,000 a year. They have had their hours increase from 42 hours to 49 hours a week. They have had their superannuation entitlements cut back. They have had reductions in their entitlements for annual leave, long service leave and redundancy benefits.

The mine is owned by Lanco Infratech, a conglomerate based in New Delhi, operating in power, mining, real estate and construction. Last year, according to ATO figures, Lanco Resources Australia Pty Ltd had a total income of $122,098,000 and paid no tax! The company claims that it had to cut wages and conditions for its employees because it was making losses. The workers and their union have repeatedly put forward a position that they would accept pay cuts of nearly 20 per cent and agreed roster changes. They have offered up their travel entitlements, reductions in their superannuation and a host of non-monetary conditions in an attempt to reach an agreement with Griffin Coal. At every turn, Griffin Coal has told the workers that their offers are not good enough—that it wants to reduce wages even lower and force workers to work longer hours. Not bad from an Indian multinational that pays no tax in this country! It is ripping away wages and conditions of Australian workers. Workers are now negotiating from a much reduced position, and many are leaving or looking for work elsewhere so that they can pay their mortgages and household bills.

What is worse, this abuse of the bargaining process is becoming a pattern of employer behaviour under this government. Big businesses are using the Griffin Coal decision to alter the foundations of agreement making. There has been an increase in agreement termination applications since the decision to terminate the Griffin Coal 2012 agreement. AGL, Essential Energy, ExxonMobil and BHP Billiton are all in various stages of pursuing enterprise agreement terminations. In my view, Mr President, this was not the design or intent of these provisions of the Fair Work Act. This is an issue of fairness and justice. Not only are the workers worse off, but they have had their bargaining position permanently weakened.

To quote from a letter from one of the workers at Griffin Coal:

I believe that Commissioner Cloghan's ruling has set a new precedent. Now any company can present [itself)]as being in financial hardship and set itself a position to request pay cuts. The company then will not have to negotiate in good faith and not move much in its position and make it near impossible for the workforce to reach an agreement.

While negotiations stall because of this, the company can then apply to have an Enterprise Agreement cancelled. If the workforce doesn't agree to the terms of the company then the Fair Work Commission will place that workforce onto the award!

The worker goes on to describe the effect this is having on the town of Collie:

Families will struggle to pay mortgages and other bills in an increasingly expensive world. Electricity, Water, Health Insurance and the general cost of living goes up due to inflation.

Local businesses will struggle as no one will have disposable income to spend in the local community. Collie is not a tourist hotspot and local businesses rely on local people to support them.

Community and sporting clubs will suffer if workers are forced onto a 2:1 roster. No one will have as much free time on their hands to donate or participate.

Finally, the worker says:

All employees want Griffin Coal to be viable as we are stakeholders too. On saying that, employees shouldn't be made to bear the brunt to cover the full financial losses of a company, which quite clearly is the case.

Mr President, the Lanco Group is worth $1.4 billion. It is a multinational that paid no tax in Australia last year, but has made some individuals very wealthy. Its executive chairman is a multibillionaire—one of the richest men in India, according to Forbes magazine. Where are the Liberals and Nationals on this critical issue for all Australian workers? What good are they if they do not stand up for workers in unfair cases like this? Do they see their job as making it easier for multinationals to extract national resources, pay little to no tax and pay workers as low a wage as possible? The question must be asked: they are the coalition silent when workers are being exploited in this manner?

I have a view that what has been happening is probably that the Western Australian Liberal Party will have been receiving donations from this company, and you never hear the coalition complain about any multinational company that makes donations to them.

I think they want a situation the same as at Carlton & United Breweries, where the company sacked 55 workers and sought to reduce pay by 65 per cent and to cut hard-won entitlements. Again, this is to the benefit of another multinational conglomerate, the biggest of big businesses—in this case, SABMiller, just recently merged with AB InBev, the world's biggest brewer. These are the people who deny decent wages and conditions to the cleaners in this parliament building, workers who had to strike last year for recognition of their rights. The coalition disrespect and disregard the staff in their own Public Service departments, who, I note, will be going on strike again next week as the Turnbull government's hardline, ideological, uncooperative, bad-faith bargaining policy is shown to be a complete failure.

This is why you will hear nothing from the coalition on the outrageous treatment of the workers at Griffin Coal or Carlton & United Breweries, or indeed here at Parliament or in the Australian Public Service. They are the ones pushing this agenda. They want to enrich multinational conglomerates at the expense of Australian workers and the Australian public. They want chaos and rancour in the Public Service, and they want the people who work in this parliament to be put in their place.

Well, they have a fight on their hands. Labor will not back down. Labor will stand with Australian workers fighting for a decent wage, fighting for safe jobs with decent conditions and fighting for the right to bargain fairly with employers. That is what Labor stands for. Labor stands for a fair go for workers. That is why we oppose the ABCC bill. That is why we stand up for the workers at Griffin Coal. That is why we stand up for the families at Griffin Coal.

It is not Labor that you will see, in a budget, ripping and cutting away at family tax benefits and pensions, and trying to impoverish young Australians who cannot find a job. That is the way of that mob over there, who are leaderless, who are rudderless, who are the worst government that we have seen in this country for decades. They are a government with no direction. They simply come together when they are attacking ordinary Australian families, the workers and the workers' unions. This is a government that is an absolute rabble. They will not last long. They are too busy fighting each other. They should start looking after workers at Griffin Coal and other places where workers are exploited. (Time expired)