'The system is overdue for reform,' says state government
The Western Australian parliament recently introduced a bill that aims to “strengthen protections” for vulnerable workers and modernise the state’s industrial relations system.
The Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 seeks to amend several state acts, including the Industrial Relations Act 1979, the Courts and Tribunals (Electronic Processes Facilitation) Act 2013, the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 and the Work and Safety Act 2020, among others.
One of the bill’s main aims is to remove exclusions from state industrial laws that currently offer no employment protection to some employees in WA.
During the bill’s second reading before parliament in November, the Minister for Industrial Relations Stephen Dawson said that state industrial laws exclude various employees, including those engaged in a private home’s domestic service.
“It is an unacceptable situation in the twenty-first century. The commonwealth government has identified these antiquated exclusions as a barrier to Australia ratifying the International Labour Organization’s Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930. This important protocol aims to support the global fight against forced labour, people trafficking and modern slavery,” Dawson said.
The bill will also broaden the WA Industrial Relations Commission’s jurisdiction to address contemporary workplace issues, including bullying and sexual harassment, similar to the Fair Work Commission’s jurisdiction.
“Workers will have a quick and inexpensive avenue via the commission to stop workplace bullying and sexual harassment. These provisions complement work health and safety laws and will help to promote cultural change at the workplace, benefiting both employers and workers,” Dawson said.
The bill also “empowers the commission” to make equal remuneration orders for employees to receive equal remuneration for work of equal or comparable value. It also enables the commission to “proactively take steps to ensure comprehensive award coverage for state system employees in the private sector.”
Another key reform is the bill’s proposal to “significantly increase pecuniary penalties” for noncompliance with state employment laws and introduce “tough penalties” for employers who engage in wage theft.
“The McGowan government is committed to ensuring that employees are paid their correct entitlements and that law-abiding businesses are not undercut by businesses doing the wrong thing by their employees,” Dawson added.
Dawson further said that “two important election commitments of the McGowan government” will be fulfilled through the bill, that is to make Easter Sunday a public holiday in WA and to introduce a minimum entitlement of five days’ unpaid family and domestic violence leave for state system employees, consistent with the Fair Work Act. The bill would also set a legislative mechanism to enable WA local government employers and employees to be exclusively governed by the state industrial relations system.
“It is the government’s strong view that local governments, as part of the body politic of the state, should be regulated by state industrial laws rather than federal laws. This is already the case in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. It should also be the case in Western Australia,” Dawson said.
Dawson noted that the state system was last updated in 2002. “The system is overdue for reform, which this bill will comprehensively deliver on,” he said.
