'The key question now is whether the amended drafting fixes the problem'
The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has welcomed the government's move to clarify its penalty rates legislation, following concerns that the original bill may have unintended consequences on longstanding award conditions.
Innes Willox, chief executive of the Ai Group, said the initially proposed penalty rates legislation would have forced the Fair Work Commission to vary longstanding award provisions that delivered flexibility for employers and employees.
"That doesn't appear to have ever been the Government's intention," Willox said in a statement.
"We have raised this technical concern with the Government and welcome their efforts to clarify the operation of the Bill. Any legislation which even risks causing unintended consequences is deeply problematic and simply shouldn't be passed without amendment."
But will it fix the problem?
The Ai Group chief's statement comes after reports from the Australian Financial Review saying amendments to the Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates Bill will be introduced this week.
The bill, introduced just last week, seeks to prevent award variations from reducing or removing penalty and overtime rates. But employers warned that the bill will have "significant unintended consequences," including changes to longstanding award provisions.
According to the AFR, the clarifications to the bill include confirming that the FWC will not be required to initiate a review of award terms beyond the scope of an award variation application, nor to revoke existing award conditions.
"The key question now is whether the amended drafting fixes the problem," Willox said.
The Ai Group has been critical of the government's plan to enshrine penalty rates into law, calling it a "job killer."
Rishworth previously said the passing of the penalty rates bill is a "top priority" for the government, stressing that it will protect the wages of around 2.6 million modern award-reliant workers.
Willox stated that it is crucial that Parliament takes a "careful approach" in considering the legislation.
"It should not be unreasonably rushed through in a form that could create further difficulties for employers and their employees," he said. "It is far from clear that the modest change properly fixes the problem in the Bill."
