WA: Individual agreements part of new state IR regime: Buswell
30 January 2009 Content provided to you by AAP.
By Jo Prichard
Individual workplace agreements will be part of a new industrial relations regime in Western Australia, Treasurer Troy Buswell says.
Mr Buswell told a Senate committee inquiring into the Fair Work Bill in Perth that WA will not be signing up to the new federal system.Employers should have the flexibility to be able to make individual contracts a precondition of employment, he told the inquiry on Thursday.
NSW Senator Doug Cameron, a member of the committee, asked Mr Buswell how it would work.
"That would be part of the discussion and the understanding of the decision to take a job or not," Mr Buswell replied.
"So it's 'my way or the highway' ... back to Work Choices?" Senator Cameron asked."It's our view that ... (employees and employers should) arrange their affairs to have flexibility as they see fit,"
Mr Buswell said."You don't have to take the job, at the end of the day."
Outside the hearing, Mr Buswell said it was not the state's intention to return to building a new industrial relations system.
"In most aspects, the Fair Work Bill will provide a base to start from in recrafting a new WA industrial relations system, but we acknowledge we do have some issues with some aspects of that," he said.
"We're not going to revisit industrial relations history in Western Australia," he said, referring to the former WA IR regime run by Liberal minister Graham Kierath.
"Our starting point will be to examine the Fair Work legislation and then to work from there."
Unions WA Secretary Dave Robinson said it was clear Mr Buswell planned to adopt part of the former federal government's Work Choices legislation in the new WA laws.
"He is saying ... you have to sign up to an individual flexibility agreement before you get the job ... that is very very similar to what occurred under Work Choices," Mr Robinson said.
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- 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