12 months have passed since the Howard government introduced its unfair IR laws.
Whilst the Prime Minister John Howard is publicly singing the praises of WorkChoices a year since it was introduced, many Australian’s have either been adversely affected, or know of someone who has been affected, by these laws.
“The majority of Australian’s understand that the government’s unfair IR laws take away fairness in the workplace” Ms Vamvakinou said.
“They remove any sense of balance from Australia’s workplaces, and encourage AWA’s that scrap basic award conditions and cut the take home pay of working Australians.”
“WorkChoices undermines job security and introduces uncertainty in the lives of working Australian’s.”
“Many people are worried about their own job security. But they are also worried about what will happen when the time comes for their children to enter the workforce” Ms Vamvakinou said.
“They are worried about how their children will be treated under AWA’s.”
“WorkChoices strikes at the very heart of the work-life balance. It swings the pendulum too far in the one direction” Ms Vamvakinou said.
“It takes away fairness, it takes away rights at work, and it puts tremendous stress on working families.”
“Without basic protections at work, it becomes increasingly hard for families to plan ahead” Ms Vamvakinou said.
“The Howard government misleadingly argues that its Work Choices reforms are responsible for creating thousands of new jobs in Australia.”
“But Labour Force Figures released by the ABS in February this year show that since WorkChoices was introduced, small business dominated areas of the economy where the majority of AWAs are concentrated, like retail and hospitality, have averaged employment growth of less than 1%.”
“Instead, economic growth in Australia is largely tied up with our resources boom, with jobs in the mining sector up by 3.8%.”
“We need an industrial relations system that supports democracy in the workplace through collective bargaining and fair bargaining, one that provides flexibility upwards for employers, employees and their workplaces.”
“And we need an industrial relations system that restores unfair dismissal protections, one that reinstates an independent umpire and offers a safety net for working mums and dads who are trying to raise a family.”
Additional Information:
In May 2006, figures released by the Office of Employment Advocates (OEA) revealed that all Australian Workplace Agreements (or AWAs) that were filed in the first month of the Howard government’s ‘Work Choices’ reforms removed at least one protected award condition.
Among the AWAs filed between March and April 2006:
· 100% had removed at least one Protected Award Condition · 64% had removed Annual Leave Loading · 63% removed Penalty Rates · 52% removed Shiftwork Loading · 51% abolished Overtime · 46% abolished Public Holiday pay · 46% also cut incentive based Payments and Bonuses · 40% cut Rest Breaks. · 36% cut declared Public Holidays · 22% provided workers with no pay rise, some for up to 5 years
The Howard government has refused to release any further figures since then
Contact: Alex Kouttab
