Press Release
ACTU Media Release - Big business should follow Liberals lead & admit WorkChoices is dead, stop using AWAs
Thursday December 20, 2007
The ACTU has called on the business community to also admit WorkChoices is dead and to immediately stop pushing workers onto unfair AWA Individual Contracts, following the announcement of Liberal leader Brendan Nelson.
But working families and unions are still concerned that the Liberals are not really genuine in their dropping of WorkChoices, with Brendan Nelson still refusing to bring back unfair dismissal protections for workers that were lost under WorkChoices.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:
“The Liberals have admitted they got it wrong on IR and it’s time now for business to do the same.
“Many employers in Australia’s largest businesses as well as business lobby groups ACCI, BCA, NFF and others joined with the Liberals to vilify Australia’s trade union movement and promote the Howard Government’s unfair WorkChoices IR laws.
“Sections of the business community not only received considerable resources from the Government to implement WorkChoices but devoted millions of dollars to their own discredited advertising campaign in support of the unfair IR laws.
“The business community and the Liberals both need to wake up and listen to the Australian people.
“The emphatic election result shows that Australians want their rights at work respected and protected and they know and support the role unions play in that.
“It is time for the business community to admit WorkChoices is dead.
“All employers should now put a stop to using AWAs and sit down and negotiate fair Collective Agreements with workers and their unions.
“In particular, large employers such as Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank should stop pushing their workers onto AWAs that reduce pay and conditions and take away their employees’ rights,” Burrow said.
Last modified 2007-12-20 10:33 AM
