Press Release
Fairness Test not ‘fair’ for workers in regional areas – NUW Delegates meeting in Wodonga today to discuss the impact on members in Albury/Wodonga
Tuesday July 31, 2007
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Victorian Secretary Antony Thow
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Workers in regional areas like Albury/Wodonga face a huge fight to maintain their wages and conditions under the Howard Government’s WorkChoices legislation, according to NUW Victorian Secretary Antony Thow.
The NUW is hosting an Albury/Wodonga Delegates meeting at the Blazing Stump Hotel in Wodonga today (Tuesday July 31, 2007) to discuss the effects of WorkChoices on its members, their families and community.
Thow said that while the Howard Government recently introduced the so-called ‘Fairness Test’ it did little to assist workers in regional areas like Albury/Wodonga.
“This is no Fairness Test,” Thow said. “There are so many exemptions in the legislation it renders it virtually useless.
“We are particularly concerned that families in regional areas such as Albury/Wodonga could be forced to work for sub-standard wages and conditions because the ‘Fairness Test’ may not apply to them.
“And we call on the Howard Government to explain why workers in regional areas are less worthy of decent wages and conditions than those in the city.
“People living in country areas are struggling to keep their heads above water. Yet this Government says that if you live in a regional area it might be OK for your employer to penalise you, and pay you less to do the same job as someone in Melbourne, simply because of your postcode.”
The so-called ‘Fairness Test’ is even more unfair for regional areas as it also may exempt those: who are unemployed and looking for work, working in a competitive industry or whose employer claims to be facing financial hardship.
“Workers in Albury/Wodonga already earn less than their city counterparts, with the median household income more than $200 per week less than those in Melbourne. WorkChoices has the potential to make that situation even worse,” Thow said.
“If we are trying to encourage people to move from the city into regional areas, this does nothing to achieve that. If anything, it could create the opposite effect with people being forced to move to the city to receive a decent working wage.
“NUW members have strong, Union Collective Agreements which protect them from WorkChoices. But they all have family and friends in these areas and live in these communities. And these are the people who will bear the brunt of the Howard Government’s unfair and unjust WorkChoices laws.
“This is why we think it is crucial to meet with all of our Delegates to explain the true impact of these laws, and what can be done to minimise their damage to their families and community.”
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Last modified 2007-08-01 12:03 PM
