Senator O'BRIEN(4.25 p.m.) —It is at least gratifying to see that after 90 years of industrial arbitration at a national level there is bipartisan support for the right to reinstatement through the federal jurisdiction. For many, many years this right was not available. There was no legislative prescription which enabled employees employed under federal awards to seek reinstatement, although such a right may have existed in some states. So at least now we can say that there is bipartisan support for this right, although the amendments that Labor moves in relation to this schedule of the legislation are amendments which obviously I support as improving the legislative basis for the reinstatement power.

It was historically the case that the only way the federal commission could act in relation to reinstatement was where there was the consent of both the employer and obviously the employee's representative to accepting a recommendation of the commission. This amendment now enshrines in the legislation the fact that there is bipartisan support for this important right to be retained by employees Australia-wide to the extent that this legislation will, in tandem with state legislation, maintain reinstatement rights.

I support Senator Forshaw's comments in relation to the fraud that has been perpetrated about the inadequacies of the previous legislation and those remarks that Senator Sherry has put on the record in relation to the fact that these changes were probably quite unnecessary.

I also point out that, in relation to one aspect of the provisions as I understand they will appear following the passage of this section, with the removal from the list of permissible matters of matters relating to the rights of union members to represent others, those rights no longer will be able to appear in awards following the transitional period. In proposed section 170CK the participation in trade union activities during working hours can be done only with the consent of the employer, whereas in the past that would have been done by permission of the award.

So to an extent this provision has put in jeopardy those people who seek to represent their fellow workers because they have been elected for example as a union delegate or representative. If I am wrong, perhaps the parliamentary secretary can clarify that matter so that I can allay the fears of a number of people I know who would be concerned that taking an action as a union representative during working hours in the future might place them in jeopardy of being dismissed without an obvious right of reinstatement pursuant to proposed section 170CK.

Amendments agreed to.