WorkChoices: What the IR changes mean for workers

WorkChoices doesn't offer workers much choice at all, writes BARRY JOHNSON.

The Howard Government has released "WorkChoices", a document which describes the changes proposed for the industrial relations system in Australia. Its release has been accompanied by a print and television media campaign which may be costing as much as $2 million per day. Before its release employers and employer groups would have you believe that the unions, other organisations and prominent individuals in the community were greatly overstating the likely impact of the changes that might be included in Howard's legislation. "WorkChoices" makes it abundantly clear that this was not the case and the proposals are actually worse than was anticipated by its opponents.

Despite the title, "WorkChoices" is not about choices for workers. The proposals dramatically shift the balance of power in industrial relations to employers. The Howard Government's objective has always been clear: break down collective industrial relationships, institutions and the safety net and force employees onto individual contracts (Australian Workplace Agreements).

The document contains the story of Billy who we are told is an unemployed job seeker who is offered a full time job as a shop assistant in a clothing store covered by a federal award but: "The job offered to Billy is contingent on him accepting an AWA."

Furthermore Billy's AWA "explicitly removes award conditions for public holidays, rest breaks, bonuses, annual leave loadings, allowances, penalty rates and shift/overtime loadings".

We are told: "Because Billy wants to get a foothold in the job market, he agrees to the AWA and accepts the job offer."

Billy really doesn't have any choices.

In places covered by AWAs there will be no right of entry for union officials. The document talks about "permit holders" who will be able to enter worksites only to inspect documents relating to union members. Permit holders have to meet a "fit and proper person" test and holders of permits under existing state Occupational Health and Safety laws will also require a federal permit. Permits can be revoked by the Australian Industrial Relation Commission (AIRC) at any time and all the permits issued to the officials of a union can be revoked because of the actions of an individual permit holder.

Apart from this power, the AIRC will be stripped of almost all other existing powers and its role will be limited to dealing with issues around industrial disputes like issuing orders to lift bans or suspend the bargaining period and stop unions from taking protected industrial action.

Federal awards will effectively be frozen. They will be stripped of conditions and pared back to only include basic minimum entitlements.

Agreements will exclude awards so that awards no longer underpin agreement making. The only guaranteed minimum conditions that must be in all agreements are annual leave, personal/carers leave (including sick leave), parental leave (including maternity leave) and maximum ordinary hours. The cap on ordinary hours only applies after a worker has achieved 38 hours per week averaged over 12 months, that is, it is an annual limit.

State systems will be overridden for corporations which will be automatically covered in the Federal system. State agreements and state awards will become and be treated as transitional federal agreements. While the words will remain the same for the time being the only matters contained in them which remain enforceable are those that pertain to the employment relationship under the federal legislation and cannot contain banned matters. The list of banned matters can be added to by the Minister by regulation without any further reference to Parliament.

Public holidays, rest and meal breaks, incentive based loadings, annual leave loading, penalty rates and overtime rates have not been added to the minimum conditions as Howard Government advertising would have you believe. They can be expressly excluded from an agreement without any obligation for compensation.

The Fair Pay Commission will replace the AIRC as the institution to set and adjust minimum rates of pay, including casual loadings. It will also set the classification wages in awards. It won't have to maintain a fair safety net of minimum wages and conditions having regard to living standards in the community as is currently the case. It won't have regard to the needs of low paid workers as is currently required of the AIRC but its economic focus will be competitiveness. This system will ensure a race to the bottom for low paid workers and a widening of the pay gap. There will be a further erosion of equality in Australian society.

Unlike the AIRC, members of the Fair Pay Commission will have fixed term appointments and therefore can be removed by the Government. The Chair of the Commission will be appointed full time for five years and the other four Commissioners appointed for four years and employed on a part-time basis. There will be a full time secretariat.

In NSW most public education teachers will be protected while a state industrial relations system remains in place. If TAFE is found to be a constitutional corporation then the NSW TAFE award will be deemed a transitional federal agreement and TAFE teachers will operate within the federal industrial jurisdiction. A future state Coalition government will hand over its powers to the Federal Government.

Workplace level bargaining is not new. Unions and peak union bodies have supported it. But their support was based upon the right of workers to freely associate in a union and collectively bargain at the enterprise. Support was also contingent upon the existence of a decent safety net to protect workers who did not have bargaining power. Support also required the existence of an independent industrial tribunal to ensure fair treatment. "WorkChoices" informs us that all this will go.

The Prime Minister has said that the Australian economy, while strong at the moment, requires it to be more competitive in the future. He argues that his changes will allow employees and employers the opportunity to sit down and negotiate individual contracts which will be of benefit to all concerned. They will be able to make choices about how their enterprise will function.

"WorkChoices" tells us Billy doesn't have any choices. For most workers in Australia there will be no choice.

Barry Johnson is the General Secretary.

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More than 700 people including general community members, teachers, nurses, steel workers, construction workers, emergency service workers, retired workers, and TAFE students marched through Wollongong to hold a peaceful protest meeting outside a corporate lunch Prime Minister John Howard attended on October 18. Wollongong TAFE teachers walked off the job from 11.30am to 1.30pm concerned about the Federal changes to IR laws and the federal funding to TAFE. Unions NSW's Your Rights at Work bus was also at the rally. Robert Long

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