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The Coalition Government Election 2007 Policy

EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS ‐ TARGETING FULL EMPLOYMENT

Employment and Workplace Relations ‐ Targeting Full Employment

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EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS ‐ TARGETING FULL EMPLOYMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................. 2

EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS ‐ TARGETING FULL EMPLOYMENT................................ 5

(i) A Better Balance Between Work and Family . 5 (ii) Extended Annual Leave................................... 6

(iii) Grandparents Leave ........................................ 6

(iv) Maternity/Paternity Leave for Both Mum and Dad............................................................. 7

(v) Advising and Protecting Young Workers ...... 7 (vi) Enhancing Comcare Benefits ......................... 8

(vii) Award Simplification and Rationalisation...... 9 (viii) Standards for Registered Organisations ....... 9 (ix) Continuing Reform in the Construction Industry............................................................. 11

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT’S ACHIEVEMENTS.. 12

LABOR’S RECORD ................................................... 16

COSTINGS SUMMARY ............................................... 18

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Coalition’s strong economic management over the past 11 years has ensured sustained economic growth and moved Australia closer to the important goal of full employment.

The Coalition has a plan to achieve full employment by ensuring the continued growth of the Australian economy. Our goal is to cut the unemployment rate to three per cent over the next three years.

A significant part of Australia’s economic prosperity is the Coalition’s willingness to make important decisions including the two waves of workplace relations reforms we have made over the last 11 years.

The Coalition believes it has in place a workplace relations system that strikes the right balance between providing strong protections for workers and fostering modern and flexible workplaces that will make the most of future economic opportunities. We will in no way weaken the existing protections for workers under our system.

Workplace reform works in conjunction with a range of other economic policies including recent tax reform and skills initiatives. The combined effect of these policies is to get more Australians into better jobs.

More employers and employees are entering into a range of workplace agreements. Since the second wave of workplace relations reforms in March 2006 there have been more than 430,000 new jobs created ‐ nearly 80 per cent of them full time. Unemployment has also fallen to 4.2 per cent, the lowest level in 33 years.

Both workers and employers have benefited from the flexibilities that the Coalition’s workplace relations system provides. The system allows them to negotiate terms and conditions of employment that suit their particular needs.

The Coalition believes in the fundamentals of the workplace relations system and will not make any further substantial changes in the next term if re-elected. It is now time to bed down recent reforms and ensure that all Australians continue to share in the gains arising from sustained economic prosperity.

In stark contrast, Labor has promised to turn back the clock and return Australia to the workplace relations system of 15 years ago. Labor wants to deny Australian workers and their families the freedom to choose the type of working conditions that best suit their particular needs. Labor believes in a ‘one size fits all’ system, where union bosses are dominant.

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The Coalition’s workplace relations arrangements is providing benefits to workers, employers and the economy as a whole. It must be retained and bedded down. A re-elected Coalition Government will enhance the flexibility it provides to workers, which is critical to the welfare and prosperity of all Australians, through the following practical changes:

• Workers, with the agreement of their employers, will be able to take double their annual leave at half pay;

• Both parents will be allowed to take up to 52 weeks unpaid parental leave (presently parents must divide 52 weeks between them);

• All grandparents will be entitled to take one week of unpaid leave when a child is born to assist the parents care for their newborn child;

• Grandparents working in businesses with more than 100 employees will have the right to take up to 52 weeks unpaid leave; and

• Increased resources will be provided to the Workplace Authority and Workplace Ombudsman to assist and protect young workers.

It is also critical to maintain the stability and industrial harmony the Coalition’s workplace relations system is delivering Australian businesses. A re-elected Coalition Government will achieve this by:

• Strengthening right of entry requirements in the building industry;

• Raising the standards of behaviour required of union officials; and

• Expanding the operations of the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner.

Australians expect and deserve a Government that delivers a strong economy. The workplace relations reforms the Coalition has implemented will help ensure economic prosperity now and into the future. This will help to deliver more jobs and higher wages for working families.

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We now have in place a flexible workplace relations system, one which promotes a cooperative and harmonious workplace environment and enables Australia to compete in the global marketplace.

It is now time to bed down the workplace relations system which will take Australia forward.

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EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS ‐ TARGETING FULL EMPLOYMENT

An effective and stable workplace relations system means more jobs and higher real wages. It promotes growth in the Australian economy, raises living standards and productivity, and helps the unemployed find jobs while reducing the number of days lost in strikes.

(i) A Better Balance Between Work and Family

The Coalition has resolutely supported and encouraged employers and employees to negotiate and implement family friendly policies and practices in their workplaces. It is the Coalition’s strong view that employers and employees should have the ability to negotiate arrangements which work best for them.

As a result of the Coalition’s workplace relations reforms, flexible and family friendly working arrangements are available to more Australian workers.

The Coalition acknowledges that there are always opportunities to improve the balance between work and family. Family friendly working arrangements are not evenly spread across occupations and industries. Too many employees and employers have been locked into old, rigid and inflexible ways of working, constrained by third party intervention.

The need for more flexibility in the workplace is the key reason for the Coalition’s workplace relations reforms.

These reforms support family flexible working arrangements through provisions that enshrine protections for families, such as:

• including consideration of family responsibilities in the principal objects of the Workplace Relations Act;

• prohibiting unlawful termination on grounds including gender, family responsibilities, pregnancy or absence from work during maternity leave;

• prohibiting discrimination on grounds including family responsibilities;

• ensuring that the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) and the Workplace Authority have regard to assisting workers to balance work and family responsibilities and the need to prevent and eliminate discrimination on grounds including family responsibilities;

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• ensuring that all awards can contain provisions for regular part-time work;

• providing a legislated entitlement to unpaid parental leave (up to a maximum of 52 weeks, including maternity, paternity and adoption leave) to employees and extending coverage of parental leave to eligible casual employees; and

• providing a legislated minimum entitlement to ten days personal/carer’s leave.

These family friendly provisions must be locked in for the benefit of workers and their families. Labor would take Australia back to a rigid system that is negotiated by people you have never met and who have never been to your workplace ‐ and who have no understanding of your personal circumstances.

(ii) Extended Annual Leave

Australian workers want increased flexibility in relation to the taking of their annual leave. For example, many working parents like to maximise the time they can spend with their children during school holidays.

A re-elected Coalition Government will enhance the legislated entitlement of four weeks annual leave it introduced to allow workers, with the agreement of their employers, to take double their annual leave at half pay. This will enable more parents to spend school holidays with their children.

(iii) Grandparents Leave

The Coalition recognises the valuable role provided by grandparents in supporting young families. Arrangements that support family members looking after other family members are supported by the Coalition.

A re-elected Coalition Government will implement the following changes to facilitate grandparents’ role in raising their grandchildren:

• All grandparents will be entitled to take one week of unpaid leave when a grandchild is born, to help parents care for the newborn child; and

• The right to take 12 months unpaid parental leave under the Workplace Relations Act will be expanded to include the right for a

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grandparent to do the same where that person works in a firm with more than 100 employees.

(iv) Maternity/Paternity Leave for Both Mum and Dad

The Coalition understands the importance of the first 12 months in a child’s life, and the importance of parents being able to take time off to care for the child during that period. Currently, the Workplace Relations Act entitles parents to up to a total of fifty-two weeks unpaid parental leave. Only one week of the fifty-two weeks leave entitlement can be taken by the mother and father at the same time. For the remaining fifty-one weeks of the leave entitlement, the mother and father can only take parental leave at separate times.

A re-elected Coalition Government will improve parental leave entitlements by making it easier for both parents to have time off to care for their children. Limitations on mothers and fathers taking parental leave at the same time will be removed, and mothers and fathers will each be allowed to take up to fifty-two weeks unpaid parental leave. This will enable both parents to take long term leave to care for a young child and give them more choice over the timing of their leave.

(v) Advising and Protecting Young Workers

The Coalition recognises that young people, particularly those entering the workforce for the first time, may be unsure of their rights and obligations at work.

At a total cost of $4 million over four years, a re-elected Coalition Government will establish, within the Workplace Authority, an office of a Deputy Director for Youth Employment with responsibility for:

• Advising young workers of their employment rights and options in agreement making;

• Leading Youth Teams in each State and Territory ‐ focused on talking to young people as they enter the workforce to ensure they understand the system and its protections;

• A dedicated Youth Workplace Infoline, dedicated youth website and text service, to receive and respond to emails from young people; and

• Ensuring businesses hiring young people have the information they need to be confident they are doing the right thing.

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Employees and employers are able to bring claims to this independent statutory authority for assistance with enforcement of workplace laws and, if necessary, prosecution of a breach. In addition, Workplace Inspectors have undertaken an increased number of targeted education and compliance campaigns to further protect the rights of workers and to inform employers of their obligations.

A re-elected Coalition Government will provide additional funding of $1 million over four years to enable the Workplace Ombudsman to undertake additional investigative and compliance activity relating to young workers and apprentices.

The Workplace Authority and the Workplace Ombudsman have only been operating at full strength since July 2007. These organisations must be given the opportunity to bed down their operations and to continue their good work as “cop on the beat”, helping people to make agreements and to understand their entitlements as employees and employers.

(vi) Enhancing Comcare Benefits

Organisations working with Comcare have Australia’s safest workplaces, with an injury incidence rate that has been the lowest in Australia for the last five reported years.

While the benefits paid under the nine workers compensation schemes in Australia vary from scheme to scheme, employees under Comcare receive consistent benefits regardless of their geographical location and have uniform health and safety arrangements.

An injured employee' s most valuable benefit is a full recovery. The combination of Comcare’s rehabilitation record (the best return to work rate in Australia) and its weekly benefits (payable until an employee returns to work or reaches retirement age) makes Comcare the best workers compensation system in Australia.

To maintain Comcare’s pre-eminent position, a re-elected Coalition Government will increase the death benefits payable under Comcare.

Lump sum death benefits will be increased from $219,000 to $400,000 and weekly payments to dependent children will be increased from $72 to $110 per week. These changes, together with its substantial rehabilitation assistance and benefits payable until retirement age, will ensure that Comcare remains the most generous and comprehensive workers compensation scheme in Australia.

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(vii) Award Simplification and Rationalisation

The more than 4,000 awards made in Australia created confusion and complexity in our workplace relations system. The Coalition has undertaken the task of streamlining awards through the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. The Coalition has also put arrangements in place for award rationalisation. This is one of the key areas offering scope for red tape reduction. Despite its longstanding opposition, Labor now claims to be a convert to award simplification and rationalisation.

As part of the bedding down of its workplace relations reforms, a re-elected Coalition Government will continue the process of simplifying and rationalising awards. This will ensure the clear articulation of the benefits payable to employees. It will also remove much of the red tape and complexity associated with the outdated awards system. It will make entitlements clear for both small business and workers, so that everyone knows where they stand.

To finalise the implementation of its enhanced safety net for Australian workers, a re-elected Coalition Government will deliver common rule industry awards for all workers in industries traditionally covered by awards, through the award rationalisation process outlined in the Workplace Relations Act. This means that all workers in industries traditionally covered by awards, including workers on State Awards, will have an award safety net when award rationalisation is complete and State Awards expire.

This will deliver a simple and consistent workplace relations system that is appropriate for workers, employers and the national economy in the 21st century, and ensures all workers have the security of a strong safety net.

(viii) Standards for Registered Organisations

Right of Entry

A re-elected Coalition Government will strengthen right of entry laws by placing a requirement on entry permit holders who wish to enter building sites to advise the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC) in addition to the current requirement that they notify the occupier of the site and the relevant employer.

If unions and employer organisations want to continue to enjoy the benefits afforded by registration under the Workplace Relations Act, their office holders should be fit and proper people.

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Individuals who abuse the privileges of holding an entry permit and have had their permit revoked are not fit and proper to hold office as officials of registered organisations.

A re-elected Coalition Government will disqualify officials who have had their entry permits revoked from holding office.

This will ensure union officials meet the same standards of behaviour that we expect of office holders of companies operating under the Corporations Act 2001, and will ensure they are subject to similar sanctions if they behave inappropriately.

Financial Accountability

Businesses are increasingly being subjected to claims involving a requirement that they make payments on behalf of their employees to specific industry funds for matters such as training. These funds accumulate millions of dollars.

Working Australians deserve to know that the financial benefits that flow from these funds are going to them and are not being used for improper purposes. The funds should be properly regulated and where this is not already occurring, a re-elected Coalition Government will ensure they are.

To ensure they are accountable to their members, registered organisations should be subject to the same level of scrutiny that is imposed on publicly listed companies. A re-elected Coalition Government will undertake consultation with all stakeholders and take appropriate steps to make sure this is the case.

Regulating Side Deals

Unions continue to attempt to circumvent the workplace relations laws by insisting that employers enter into unregistered “side deals” relating to matters falling outside the scope of the Workplace Relations Act. Labor has promised to place no limits on the range of matters unions can demand.

To ensure that illegitimate pressure is not placed on employers to make contributions to union-related funds or enter into other arrangements that fall outside the scope the Workplace Relations Act, a re-elected Coalition Government will legislate to ensure that illegitimate pressure cannot be placed on employers to make side deals as a precondition to entering into an agreement under the Act.

In addition, matters that constitute prohibited content in a workplace agreement will be unenforceable if incorporated in a side deal.

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(ix) Continuing Reform in the Construction Industry

The Coalition is committed to continuing its reform of the building and construction industry. Integral to this cultural change in the construction industry has been the operation of the National Code of Practice for the construction industry (the Code). By using its purchasing power, and by requiring employers to be “Code compliant” in the operation of their businesses as a precondition to performing federally funded work, the Coalition has delivered unprecedented harmony and efficiency to the construction industry.

A re-elected Coalition Government will provide additional funding of $7 million over four years to the office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner so that it can:

• Assist small to medium businesses operating in the building and construction industry to become Code compliant; and

• Increase its presence on the construction sites of Australia to ensure the industry operates in a harmonious, lawful and productive fashion.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT’S ACHIEVEMENTS

Increased Employment

Since 1996, the Coalition Government’s strong economic management has helped create nearly 2.2 million jobs in Australia and reduce unemployment to a 33 year low of 4.2 per cent.

Nearly 1.3 million full-time jobs have been created since 1996, and as at September 2007 there were more than 10.5 million Australians in work.

There are well over 7.5 million people in full-time employment, also a record high.

Since the introduction of the latest workplace relations reforms in March 2006, 430,700 jobs have been created.

Higher Real Wages

Under the Coalition, real wages have increased by 21.5 per cent. In stark contrast, real wages actually fell ‐ by 1.8 per cent ‐ over the 13 years of the previous Labor government, when trade union bosses ran the country.

Lowest Strike Record in Australia’s History

Australian Bureau of Statistics data on industrial disputes show that strikes have fallen to a new record low.

Only 0.8 working days were lost per thousand employees in the June 2007 quarter. This is the lowest quarterly rate recorded since records were first kept in 1913. Under Labor, a peak of 104.6 working days were lost per thousand employees was reached in the December 1992 quarter.

Legislated Protections

The Coalition legislated for the first time in Australian history guaranteed minimum standards of employment. The Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard (the Standard) provides minimum entitlements for employees in relation to minimum rates of pay, annual leave, personal/carer’s leave, parental leave and maximum ordinary hours of work.

The following are protected by law:

• Minimum and award classification wages;

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• Four weeks annual leave;

• Ten days personal/carer’s leave (including sick leave);

• Parental leave (including maternity leave); and

• Maximum ordinary hours of work.

All new workplace agreements under the workplace relations system must meet or exceed the Standard.

These terms exceed those contained in many State awards, and are further strengthened by the Fairness Test which ensures that, if the terms of a workplace agreement alter award conditions such as penalty rates and overtime in any way, fair compensation must be offered in return. Such agreements must be approved by the Workplace Authority.

The Fairness Test applies to the Australian Workplace Agreements of employees earning under $75,000 per annum and all Collective Agreements.

Simplified Agreement Making

The Workplace Authority is the primary source of education, information, advice and assistance on agreement making.

The Workplace Authority plays a significant role in providing information to employees, taking into account the circumstances of particular employees including persons from non-English speaking backgrounds and young people. The service is free, and available to all employees and employers.

All new agreements now take effect from the date they are lodged with the Workplace Authority. Every agreement must include a declaration from the employer that the agreement meets the relevant requirements of the Act and there are substantial penalties for making a false declaration.

Australian Fair Pay Commission

The Coalition is committed to the maintenance of the minimum wage and supports responsible increases to it. We believe it should be increased in such a way that every Australian who wants a job has the opportunity of finding work and earning a fair wage.

The Coalition established the Australian Fair Pay Commission as an expert body dedicated solely to making determinations on the minimum wage. The Fair Pay Commission is required to take into account the need to provide a safety net for the low paid while also promoting

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economic prosperity and ensuring the capacity for the low skilled and unemployed to find a job and keep it.

Since its establishment, the Fair Pay Commission has already awarded wage increases totalling $37.62 per week for those on the minimum wage.

Reform of the Building and Construction Industry

Since its establishment on 1 October 2005, the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) has had a profound effect. In the building and construction industry, working days lost per thousand employees due to industrial action have plummeted from 37.4 in the September 2005 quarter to just 1.7 in the June 2007 quarter. Productivity has increased markedly, with projects being delivered on time and within budget. This is a far cry from the days of unbridled union power prior to the establishment of the ABCC, when union bosses dictated construction schedules.

A study of the impact of the ABCC released in July 2007 by the independent economic consultancy Econtech found:

• Labour productivity in the construction industry is 9.4 per cent higher;

• GDP is 1.5 per cent higher than it would otherwise be;

• CPI is 1.2 per cent lower than it would otherwise be; and

• Compared with the 1994-2003 period, when costs in the commercial building sector were 10.7 per cent higher than domestic residential building, the cost gap between these two sectors has fallen to just 1.7 per cent.

Abolition of Unfair Dismissal Laws for Small Business

The OECD Report “Going for Growth 2007” concluded that unfair dismissal laws are likely to increase the length of unemployment spells and long-term unemployment and compromise the job prospects of young workers and women.

The evidence supporting these conclusions is compelling.

Since the Coalition Government removed the job-destroying unfair dismissal laws:

• 430,700 new jobs have been created, 77 per cent of them full time;

• The overall participation rate is now at 65 per cent, a near record high;

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• The youth participation rate is now ranked 2nd among OECD countries;

• The female participation rate is at a record high; and

• Long term unemployment is now at its lowest level in more than 20 years.

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LABOR’S RECORD

Labor wants to turn back the clock on workplace reform and return Australia to the economic dark ages.

Labor’s promise to “rip up” the Coalition’s workplace relations legislation, and in particular abolish AWAs, is a recipe for economic disaster. The mining and resources sector estimates that the abolition of AWAs would cost its industry alone some $6 billion in lost productivity.

The heavy-handed workplace regulation that Labor has promised to re-introduce at the direction of union bosses would seriously weaken the Australian economy and place in jeopardy our future economic security.

Labor appears to have forgotten that a highly regulated labour market did not prevent nearly 1 million Australians being thrown onto the unemployment scrap heap in the early 1990’s. Nor did it prevent record high levels of industrial disputation.

Labor maintains that unfair dismissal laws need to be re-introduced for businesses with less than 100 employees. Labor refuses to recognise that, when the unfair dismissal laws were in place, and they were in Government, retrenchments occurred at twice the current rate. This is a stark illustration of the fact that a strong economy provides the best job security for workers.

While both the Coalition and the Labor Party believe that workers should have the right to be represented by unions, Labor supports union membership and involvement to the exclusion of all other options. Labor’s policy is that if just one worker wants to be represented by a union boss during bargaining, that union will be a party to the agreement reached.

In contrast to the Coalition’s overarching commitment to flexibility and individual choice, the Labor Party is contemptuous of the right of employees to choose an alternative to union representation. For Labor, there is simply no alternative to union collective agreements.

Once again doing the bidding of the union bosses, Labor has promised to abolish the Workplace Authority, Workplace Ombudsman, the Australian Fair Pay Commission and the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

Labor’s refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of these important institutions and the key role they play in providing information and protection for workers is motivated purely by the ideological opposition of the union bosses.

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Labor intends to deprive workers of access to independent sources of advice and assistance.

Labor wants to abolish the Workplace Ombudsman as the independent “cop on the beat”. This is so that union bosses can be reinstated as the enforcers of the workplace.

Labor will abolish the Workplace Authority, so there will be no independent authority checking the fairness of agreements.

Given the ABCC’s remarkable record of success, ensuring harmony and productivity on Australian building sites, Labor’s plan to abolish it can only be explained by the need for it to repay the CFMEU, ETU and other construction unions. Labor hasn’t the courage to stand up to the union thugs who once exercised a reign of terror over Australian building sites.

Employment and Workplace Relations ‐ Targeting Full Employment

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COSTINGS SUMMARY

EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS ‐ TARGETING FULL EMPLOYMENT

Policy Measure

2007-08 $m 2008-09 $m

2009-10 $m 2010-11 $m

TOTAL $m

Advising and Protecting Young Workers 0.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 5.0

Continuing Reform in the Construction Industry 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 7.0

TOTAL 1.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 12.0