Award Modernisation - Speaking up for office workers
By Your national Union - the ASU
Aug 5, 2008
The ASU has made detailed submissions to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) on the need for protection of the wages and working conditions of office employees throughout Australia as the award modernisation process heats up. The AIRC has been asked by the Federal Government to review and modernise all Federal and State awards over the next 18 months to form the basis of a new industrial relations system to commence on 1 January 2010.
The AIRC has been told to create modern awards primarily along industry lines (where all employees in the one industry would be covered by the one award) but also on an occupational basis where appropriate.
In our submissions, the ASU has argued strongly that office workers must have an occupational award to provide a fair and decent safety net of terms and conditions. More than 12% of all Australian workers are employed in offices, one of the largest single occupational groups.
The Union knows from bitter experience that in many industry sectors, if office workers are included in 'industry' awards, their interests will be quickly forgotten and their wages and conditions will wither on the vine.
The ASU has pioneered recognition of the skills of women workers which historically were neglected and established parity, not only between men and women workers, but between clerical and administrative employees and other skilled workers in industry.
The ASU has for many years fought hard to create awards with classification structures and rates of pay that properly recognise and reward office workers for the exercise of high levels of skill. In addition, ASU awards have established decent conditions of employment appropriate to the needs of office workers.
The ASU has negotiated with other unions and employers to uphold the right of office employees to their own awards and recognition. The ASU has been strongly supported by a number of other unions, including the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU).
Employers seek cuts and changes
Some employers are using the creation of modern awards as an opportunity to reduce wages and conditions of employees to the lowest common denominator in the interests of 'flexibility'. The ASU, by contrast, says that any new modern award made must not disadvantage any office employees anywhere, now or in the future.
Some employer groups have argued that office workers should be forced to work ordinary hours on weekends. Right now, spreads of hours for office workers are either Monday to Friday or, on rare occasions, extend until lunch-time on Saturday - the ASU has strongly argued against any extension of hours and has argued in favour of a Monday to Friday spread.
If the employers are successful in this claim, many office workers will be adversely affected. We must resist these attempts to undermine hard won conditions.
Minimum terms and conditions are the safety net on which many employees depend for their living standards and availability of family time and there is no reason and no excuse to lower the safety net standard for any employee.
ASU proposes national legal industry award
As well as a general occupational award for office workers, the ASU is supporting and arguing for specific sector awards to recognise the special needs and skills of workers in some industries.
One of these is the legal industry where paralegals, articled clerks and solicitors have a high level of specialist industry skills and so the ASU is arguing for a special legal services industry award covering employees in this sector.
What’s next?
The AIRC is now looking at modern awards in 14 priority sectors. The ASU has made submissions about the needs of office employees in each sector. Consultations continue for the next two weeks on these priority areas.
The ASU expects to make further submissions on the clerical award (and the other priority industries) between now and the end of August. In mid-September the AIRC will publish a draft of the new modern clerical, administrative and office workers award. The ASU and other interested parties will then have to make further submissions about the appropriateness of this award as a safety net.
A final award will be released later in the year for each of the priority sectors for final comments but it will not take effect until 1 January 2010.
This is a long process but as the union for office workers we aim to ensure that office workers get a safety net which is fair and decent and which disadvantages no employee, now or in the future.
Watch out for more details as this process progresses.
