The CPSU has uncovered two areas in which the Federal Governments second-wave bill undermines existing bargaining and organising rights even further than flagged in the WorkChoices booklet. The first deals with the 90-day rule for terminating agreements, and the second with right of entry at workplaces covered by non-union collective deals.
The NSW Government today said it would proceed with a High Court challenge to the Federal Government's Work Choices legislation, while all the other States are likely to join the legal action.
The new Australian Fair Pay Commission will lack the AIRC's independence, while the removal of the requirement for an "effective" safety net will drive down labour costs at the bottom end of the market and create more "working poor" in Australia, according to Melbourne University's Dr John Howe.
In a provision that could cause ructions in some major unions, the Work Choices legislation provides for the de-merger of unions that amalgamated before 1997.
ACTU secretary Greg Combet has this evening called for a new emphasis on boosting Australian manufacturing as an alternative economic priority to the Federal Government's second wave IR changes.
The second-wave provisions on agreement-making have fairly closely followed the script in the WorkChoices booklet - with a few exceptions, according to CFMEU (mining & energy division) national legal officer, Alex Bukarica.
The Work Choices bill proposes "breathtaking" restrictions on the ability of employees seeking to pursue unfair dismissal claims, according to employment law specialist at Carroll & O'Dea, Peter Punch.
The Federal Government's new IR regime will cost $489.6 million over the next four years, according to estimates in the Work Choices explanatory memorandum.
