At the 2007 ALP National Conference held in Sydney over the weekend, Labor announced its new industrial relations policy Forward with Fairness.
"Labor’s Forward with Fairness policy puts fairness back into the Australian workplace, whilst at the same time providing business with the flexibility it needs to be competitive in today’s fast paced economy" Ms Vamvakinou said.
"This is about getting the balance right between fairness and flexibility in the workplace."
"Forward with Fairness provides flexibility for Australian businesses without undermining the basic rights and protections that Australian workers fought long and hard to secure. It protects job security for Australian workers, which is especially important for working families who are trying to plan for the future. And it allows working parents to find a balance between time at work and time with the family."
"Labor's plan will provide a safety net of ten national employment standards and industry awards to protect the job security and quality of life that working Australians deserve." (see below)
"Forward with Fairness protects the idea of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. In contrast, WorkChoices throws the idea of 'a fair go' out the back window."
“The Howard government’s unfair WorkChoices legislation is all about winding back the rights and protections that were originally introduced to protect Australian workers from the sort of horror stories we are now hearing from those forced onto AWAs”
"WorkChoices is a giant step backwards for Australia. Most Australian's understand that WorkChoices has no place in modern Australia."
"John Howard has made a grave miscalculation. Australian's are not going to vote for his IR laws when they take away their rights at work, when they drive down wages and award conditions, when they affect the quality of life that people work hard for and have every right to enjoy, and when they directly threaten the employment prospects of their children" Ms Vamvakinou said.
"There is simply no evidence to support the Howard government's argument that WorkChoices creates new jobs or increases productivity. Productivity growth in Australia is down, and small business dominated areas of the economy where AWAs are mostly concentrated, like retail and hospitality, have averaged employment growth of less than 1 per cent since WorkChoices was first introduced"
"Instead, WorkChoices shows how out of touch John Howard is with the rest of Australia" Ms Vamvakinou said.
Labor's Forward with Fairness policy will:
ensure a decent and relevant safety net of ten legislated national employment standards and modern simple industry awards for employees.
ensure that when a majority of employees at a workplace want a collective agreement, employers must bargain collectively.
help working Australians balance their work and family commitments through flexible working arrangements and flexible parental leave rules.
ensure that employers can manage their business through flexible, simple award provisions, collective bargaining above the safety net and common law arrangements.
ensure a genuinely independent umpire.
restore unfair dismissal protection for hard working Australians.
Contact: Alex Kouttab
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
A) Federal Labor’s 10 National Employment Standards are:
1. Hours of work
Under Federal Labor, the standard working week for a full time employee will be 38 hours. Employees may be required to work additional hours, but cannot be required to work unreasonable additional hours.
2. Parental leave
Federal Labor recognises that many families want to have a parent provide all or most of the care for a child during the first two years of the child’s life.
A Rudd Labor Government will guarantee that both parents have the right to separate periods of up to 12 months of unpaid leave associated with the birth of a baby. Where families prefer one parent to take a longer period of leave, that parent will be entitled to request up to an additional 12 months of unpaid parental leave from their employer.
The employer may only refuse the request for the additional 12 months leave on reasonable business grounds.
This will guarantee that Australian working families have the flexibility of up to 24 months unpaid leave to provide care for their child.
3. Flexible work for parents
A Rudd Labor Government will guarantee a right for parents to request flexible work arrangements until their child reaches school age. Employers will only be able to refuse any request on reasonable business grounds.
4. Annual leave
All full time non casual employees will be guaranteed 4 weeks paid annual leave each year. Part time employees will be entitled to 4 weeks annual leave paid pro rata. Shift workers will be entitled to an additional paid week of annual leave.
5. Personal, Carers and Compassionate leave
All full time non casual employees will be entitled to 10 days paid personal and carers leave each year. Part time employees will be entitled to 10 days personal leave paid pro rata. These employees will also be entitled to 2 days paid compassionate leave on the death or serious illness of a family member or a person the employee lives with. All employees will be entitled to an additional 2 days of unpaid personal leave where required for genuine caring purposes and family emergencies.
6. Community Service Leave
Employees will be entitled to leave for prescribed community service activities, for example paid leave for jury service and reasonable unpaid leave for emergency services duties.
7. Public holidays
Federal Labor’s industrial relations system will guarantee public holidays.
Where an employee works on a public holiday, they will be entitled to an appropriate penalty rate of pay or other compensation. This will be set out in the applicable award.
8. Information in the workplace
Employers must provide all new employees with a Fair Work Information Statement which contains prescribed information about the employee’s rights and entitlements at work, including the right of the employee to choose whether to be or not to be a member of a union and where to go for information and assistance.
9. Termination of Employment & Redundancy
All employees will be entitled to fair notice of termination.
Employees who are made redundant and who are employed in workplaces with 15 or more employees will also be entitled to redundancy pay as determined by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in the 2004 Redundancy Test Case.
10. Long Service Leave
As part of its commitment to national industrial relations laws, Federal Labor will work with the States to develop nationally consistent long service leave entitlements.
Under Federal Labor, long service leave entitlements accrued under these arrangements will be protected in the transition to nationally consistent long service leave entitlements so Australian employees are not disadvantaged.
B) Federal Labor’s Modern, Simple Industry Awards
Federal Labor’s new awards will provide industry relevant detail to Labor’s National Employment Standards and may only contain a further 10 minimum standards:
1. Minimum wages. This will include skill based classifications and career structures, incentive based payments and bonuses, wage rates and other arrangements for apprentices and trainees;
2. The type of work performed, for example whether an employee is permanent or casual, and the facilitation of flexible working arrangements, particularly for workers with family responsibilities, including quality part time employment and job sharing;
3. Arrangements for when work is performed, including hours of work, rostering, rest breaks and meal breaks;
4. Overtime rates for employees working long hours;
5. Penalty rates for employees working unsocial, irregular or unpredictable hours, on weekends or public holidays, and as shift workers;
6. Provisions for minimum annualised wage or salary arrangements that have regard to the patterns of work in an occupation, industry or enterprise as an alternative to the payment of penalty rates, with appropriate safeguards to ensure individual employees are not disadvantaged;
7. Allowances including reimbursement of expenses, higher duties and disability based payments;
8. Leave, leave loadings and the arrangements for taking leave;
9. Superannuation; and
10. Consultation, representation and dispute settling procedures.
