Australian Labor Party leader Mark Latham recently unveiled the party’s industrial relations policy at its national conference, with a strong union-oriented approach to reforming Australian workplaces
AUSTRALIAN Labor Party leader Mark Latham recently unveiled the party’s industrial relations policy at its national conference, with a strong union-orientated approach to reforming Australian workplaces.
Some of the more prominent elements of its policy include the abolishment of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), the introduction of a standard 14 weeks paid maternity leave, preference for union-friendly tenders for government contracts and establishing a right for casual workers to take up full-time employment after six months.
Other elements include a resolution to tackle long working hours, providing a right to part-time work, support for the ACT government’s recent introduction of industrial manslaughter legislation and abolishing legislation aimed at reforming the building industry.
The ACTU welcomed Latham’s announcement that Labor would be putting an end to the Howard Government’s “dog-eat-dog industrial relations system”, abolishing AWAs and restoring the role of the industrial relations commission.
“We welcome Mark Latham’s commitment to introduce paid maternity leave and to improve the rights of working parents. These are litmus test issues for working families and we welcome the strong support they are getting from Labor’s new leader,” said ACTU president Sharan Burrow.
“Mark also clearly understands that the current bargaining relationship in the workplace under the Howard Government is unequal and unfair and the ACTU applauds his announcement that Labor will abolish AWAs and restore a role for the Industrial Relations Commission.”
She said that Latham also identified the explosion in casual jobs as a key issue for Australian workers, citing figures that show casual employment as a proportion of the total workforce has doubled in the past two decades from 13 per cent in 1982 to 27.3 per cent in 2000.
Latham also announced recently that the ALP would cut Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxes and lower effective marginal tax rates.
The ALP’s industrial relations policy would also see workplace inspections carried out to ensure employee’s rights and entitlements were protected, and the removal of industrial matters from the Trade Practices Act.
However Federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews said that unions were dictating Labor’s industrial relations policy through large donations.
Minister Andrews was referring to figures released by the Australian Electoral Commission, which showed that unions donated $4.9 million to the ALP in 2002-03.
The Minister said that at least 58 per cent of the delegates at the ALP conference were trade union members, compared to only 17.7 per cent of the Australian private sector workforce.
“Not only did Mark Latham walk away from a commitment in his [national conference] speech to full employment, he had policies which said that if you’re a company in Australia don't even bother tendering for a government contract unless you have a unionised workforce,” Andrews said.
He said the ALP’s bias towards unions was proof that it was out of touch with average Australians because of failing union memberships.
“Four out of five Australian workers have walked away and rejected unions,” he said. “And yet these big union bosses are dictating Labor’s policies - this is cash for policies.”
Andrews said that Labor’s industrial relations plan would give unions control of Australian workplaces.
“Labor will take us back to the past by re-regulating the workplace, abolishing workplace agreements, strengthening the role of unions and slugging employers with extra costs.”
