The Howard Government's radical industrial relations reforms will unfairly curtail our rights at work, cut the amount of time Australians can spend with family, and erode job security.

1. Unfair dismissal

The Howard Government has attacked job security, leaving 4 million employees vulnerable to unfair dismissal.

• Workers employed by businesses with fewer than 100 staff lose the right to unfair dismissal protection. This means employees are no longer allowed to seek reinstatement or compensation if they are sacked because of harsh, unreasonable or unjust treatment.
• People employed by companies with more than 100 staff keep right to claim unfair dismissal, but workers in large companies are not safe either. Employees will not be regarded as unfairly dismissed if employers state their sacking was for "operational reasons."
• All employees keep right to claim unlawful dismissal, if they are sacked on the basis of discriminatory grounds such as race, religion, gender, pregnancy and union or political affiliation. However, these claims have to be fought in court with costs for the employee nearing $30,000.

Download a PDF Factsheet about Unfair Dismissal here.

Download a detailed 12 page booklet containing information about the new laws (PDF).

2. AWA Individual contracts

AWA are individual contracts that can undermine workers' rights. The Howard Government’s laws allow employers to:

• Single out employees, introducing poorer working conditions on to them one at a time.
• Have more control over your working hours and make more people casual.
• Get rid of work rights like weekend, shift and public holiday rates; overtime; redundancy pay and allowances.

Download a PDF Factsheet about AWA Individual Contracts here.

3. Change the way minimum wages are set to make them lower

The Government wants minimum wages in Australia to be lower. This will reduce the living standards for many people who are only just keeping their heads above water.

• For more than 100 years minimum wages in Australia have been set, reviewed and increased by an independent body, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. This system ensures that low paid workers and their families are not left behind.
• Under the Howard Government’s IR changes, the independent umpire – the Industrial Relations Commission – no longer sets minimum wage rates.
• Minimum wages to be set by a so-called "Fair Pay Commission" tasked only with ensuring the economy is competitive – not with balancing the dual needs of a strong economy and wage fairness.

Download a PDF Factsheet about the minimum wage here.

4. Award safety net replaced with just five minimum conditions

Most of the minimum pay rates and working conditions we take for granted are guaranteed in State or Federal awards, which also underpin workplace agreements. All new employees can be required to sign an agreement and have no right to demand the award.

The Government’s new laws state five conditions will form the minimum standard for all wage agreements:

• A minimum wage based on job classification starting at $484 a week.
• Four weeks' paid annual leave, of which two weeks can be cashed out at the request of an employee.
• Paid personal/carer's leave, including sick leave, of 10 days a year, plus a further two days of unpaid carer's leave if you have exhausted all your paid leave.
• Parental leave of up to 52 weeks unpaid after the birth or adoption of a child for the primary caregiver.
• A standard working week of 38 hours, averaged over a year, but not tightly enforced.

Download a PDF Factsheet about the loss of the award safety net here.

5. Australians' access to unions restricted

The Howard Government’s new IR laws will affect everyone's right to get help when they need it most. The Government has made it harder for unions to protect and represent employees by:

• Making it harder for employees to ask unions to make workplace visits.
• Making it harder for unions to legally take industrial action when negotiations break down.
• Increasing penalties for unions and workers.

Download a PDF Factsheet about access to unions here.

6. Powers of the independent Industrial Relations Commission weakened

The Government has weakened the powers of the independent umpire in the workplace by stopping it from setting minimum wage rates or considering new award conditions.

• The AIRC loses power to set minimum wages, hear test cases to alter awards and arbitrate disputes.
• Instead of the independent Industrial Relations Commissions, the Howard Government has created the so-called Australian Fair Pay Commission.
• The AFPC will not be required to consider fairness when setting minimum wages. Nor will it set wages in the context of living standards in the community generally.

Download a PDF Factsheet about the AIRC here.

SOURCE: ACTU