The AWU today urged the Senate inquiry into the Work Choices legislation to address a series of "unintended consequences" in the bill during a fiery session in which national secretary Bill Shorten accused the Coalition of misleading workers and fended off jibes about his own political ambitions.
Big companies such as PBL and Patrick, which each have more than a hundred subsidiaries, will be able under Work Choices to lawfully avoid the new 100-employee unfair dismissal threshold by moving their employees into entities employing fewer than 100 workers, Australia's largest union told the Senate inquiry into the legislation yesterday.
The Catholic Church has proposed amendments to the Work Choices bill to require the new Fair Pay Commission to provide a fair safety net for low-paid workers and to include overtime, penalty rates and meal breaks in the new Fair Pay and Conditions Standard.
Women will not be able to individually bargain for paid maternity leave and it will decline as an entitlement under the Work Choices legislation, federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward today told the IR Senate inquiry today.
Low-paid workers are likely to be worse off under the Work Choices legislation, while it is unlikely to generate significant employment growth, according to the architect of the Court Government's wage-fixing system, which reduced WA minimum pay to significantly below the federal award benchmark.
Employees will have to routinely seek a medical certificate from a doctor every time they are absent from work on sick or carer's leave - incurring significant costs if bulk billing is unavailable - because there is no provision in the Work Choices legislation for obtaining a certificate afterwards, the ACTU told the Senate inquiry into the bill today.
The AIRC has prescribed the notice periods required for employees seeking to use the new rights established in this year's work and family test case, after it issued final orders to give effect to the ruling. However, it could be just weeks before the Howard Government's Work Choices scraps the new regime.
The AIRC today left the door open to proceed with the ACTU's proposed minimum wage case next year, despite Federal Government urgings that the case be allowed to lapse pending the commencement of its Work Choices legislation.
The ABS Labour Price Index, released today, shows annual wage growth across the economy has hit 4.2% in trend terms, the highest level since 1998, while private sector growth has reached a new record of 4%.
The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce has appealed to the Howard Government to maintain its federal awards, saying they provide a level playing field that ensures employers in its industry don't undercut each other on wages.
