Changes unfair to workers: Cameron
Mark Davis Political Correspondent, smh
December 12, 2008
ON THE first day of Senate committee hearings on the Federal Government's contentious industrial relations legislation yesterday, Coalition senators might have been expected to gang up on the Fair Work Bill.
But as it turned out it was one of the Government's own - the former union firebrand Doug Cameron - who applied the blowtorch to the legislation drawn up by the Workplace Relations Minister, Julia Gillard.
Senator Cameron criticised the bill's ban on "pattern bargaining", where unions seek identical enterprise agreements across an industry, and the powers it gives the industrial tribunal to halt strikes that are damaging the economy.
He questioned how these restrictions could be reconciled with the bill's objectives of encouraging collective bargaining and with Australia's obligations under International Labor Organisation conventions on the right to strike.
"Is there any other country in the world where such restrictions on pattern bargaining apply?" Senator Cameron asked.
The officials took the question on notice.
From his experience, Senator Cameron said, "you can't help but have similar claims being made at the enterprise level because workers … are facing … similar economic circumstances".
"How do you then determine whether it is pattern bargaining or legitimate enterprise bargaining?"
The department's deputy secretary, John Kovacic, said it would be pattern bargaining if the union would not negotiate about the needs of individual workplaces.
Senator Cameron also questioned the fairness of excluding employees with less than six months' service at large employers and with less than 12 months at small employers from making unfair dismissal claims.
By contrast, Opposition senators were relatively subdued, although they did raise concerns about "right of entry" rules covering union access to workplaces.
The Liberal senator Gary Humphries opened the Opposition's questioning by saying: "As far as we're concerned, Work Choices is dead and provisions in the legislation which give it a decent burial won't have any argument from us."
The committee will report to the Senate in late February.
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- JENNY'S RED NEWS
- Dear Fellow Bloggers, For some time I have thought about starting a left of centre news and commentary service and I have tried to do this by using email. But as some good, but email overloaded friends have suggested, a better way to go may be by blogging. So here it is! Jenny's Red News. My primary interests are left of centre politics and the very important question of how can we get left of centre parties, groups and grouplets in Australia working together more co-operatively. The right of centre predominates politics in this country at the present time, and they are on the march. We on the left of centre need to work together more co-operatively and constructively to put the left of centre agenda out there, for the perusal and consumption of the Australian people. Particular topics that will be reported on and on which comments are welcome are: Industrial relations - Opposition to Workchoices Refugee and Asylum Seekers Human Rights Civil Liberties Opposition to the Welfare to Work Changes Health System Reform Aboriginal Health and Reconciliation Jenny Haines posted by JENNY'S RED NEWS at 12:50 AM 0 comments