Press Release
ACTU Media Release - More working conditions to go under new Liberal IR plans
Wednesday March 08, 2006
The Howard Government would remove even more workplace conditions and rights from Australian employees if it wins the next election Finance Minister Nick Minchin has revealed.
In a secret address to the HR Nicholls Society, Mr Minchin, who is a senior member of the Howard Government, revealed that the Government was planning 'another wave' of Industrial Relations changes if it won the 2007 Federal Election.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow today (Wednesday March 8) asked Mr Minchin to clarify what other basic rights for workers the Government planned to take away:
"Exactly what other basic entitlements does Finance Minister Nick Minchin think that Australian working families can afford to lose?
“The Howard Government has just removed protection from being unfairly dismissed for 3.5 million Australian workers.
“It has made it easier for employers to force workers onto individual contracts that undercut take-home pay and remove conditions.
“The Government is also allowing employers to remove conditions like penalty rates, overtime pay, weekend rates, public holidays and redundancy pay as well as effectively abolished the award safety net.
And now Nick Minchin has revealed the Howard Government plans even more Industrial Relations changes.
“It seems that John Howard and Nick Minchin will stop at nothing until all Australian workers are on an individual contract that has wages and conditions equivalent to China or India.
“These comments show just how out of touch Mr Minchin and the Howard Government are.
“Working Australians want their rights at work protected. They want job security and protection from unfair dismissal and they want an Industrial Relations system that encourages collective bargaining and makes it illegal for individual contracts to undercut wages and conditions.
“This is a clear sign that Australia's biggest businesses, many of which are behind the HR Nicholls Society are pushing their friends in the Liberal Party for even more Industrial Relations changes.
“It is further evidence that the Howard Government governs for corporate Australia at the expense of ordinary working families," Burrow said.
Extracts from Nick Minchin's address to the HR Nicholls Society's conference:
* "but I think we do need to seek a mandate from the Australian people at the next election for another wave of Industrial Relations reform".
* "This is evolution, not revolution, and there is still a long way to go... Awards, the IR Commission, all the rest of it..."
* "Poll after poll demonstrated that the Australian people don't agree at all with anything we're doing on this - we have minority support for what we're doing".
(As reported by Workplace Express: Howard Government should seek mandate for third wave, says Minchin - www.workplaceexpress.com.au)
Last modified 2006-03-16 01:14 PM
