New Industrial Relations LegislationJoin now to read essay New Industrial Relations LegislationIn Early November 2005 John Howard revealed the new Industrial Relations Legislation called “Work Choices”. The proposed legislation, which is due to be passed in the senate by July 1st 2006, is aimed at creating a fairer system, yet many unions believe, it will make the system less fair by reducing job security and enable employers to dictate minimum wages and working conditions.
According to the Work Choices booklet the current industrial relations legislation has been in some way holding Australia back the economy because of its complexity and unfairness. These proposed new laws are claimed to lead to a stronger economy whilst also leading to a stronger and fairer system for the future. The new legislation intends to achieve all this simply by lowering employee wages and reducing job security. This however would involve eliminating the current minimum wage legislation and introducing a new business dominated “Fair Pay Commission”, which will slash the minimum wage limit. As a result Workers will have next to no choice but to sign an individual contract on the employees terms. Employees are in fact allowed to negotiate they’re pay conditions through there employer, but are not allowed the assistance from a union of any sort. This campaign has been labelled as “Protected by Law” and states that under the new legislation factors such as Leave, penalty rates and the right to join or be represented by a union. However these basic rights and protection can be taken away if your are on individual contract.
Under the new legislation one of the major changes is the abolition of unfair dismal restrictions on firms employing up to 100 people. As a result 5 million workers who equate to 2/3 of the Australian workforce will be directly excluded from unfair dismissal laws. In short, it will be harder for Australian workers to hold a job due to the fact they will have next to no Job security. Economists and Corporate Lawyers have already predicted that larger corporations or businesses can divide their business into smaller units of 100 as a way of evading unfair dismissal laws. Employees will have the right to object to any sub-standard conditions or resist changes to their contracts. Those who do are liable to be fired at will. Newer contracts will not have to include retrenchment pay. In addition the current probationary period of three months will be increased to six months. As a result employers can fire full time workers and replace them with casual or part-time workers invariably working on lower rates.
In addition to Australian workers having next to no job security the new legislation has had nothing but a negative effect on pay conditions as well as penalty rates by setting them according to criteria such as business viability and productivity levels. In an attempt to make sure that the government gets its way in the future it is abolishing the wage-fixing jurisdiction of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC). It will then be replaced with the fair pay commission, which will consist of seven easily removable government employees, headed by a business representative. The new laws intend to force more workers onto Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA’s). Which currently account for only 5% of the current workforce. As to promote flexibility in the workplace the laws will remove the “no disadvantages” test which
The Coalition is also proposing to make Wages in the Commonwealth a level 3 scale which will reduce the Commonwealth’s participation in the economy. This in turn will increase public investment in education and care and provide opportunities for the unemployed. According to a government spokesperson the changes will ‘re-establish fairness and ensure job security and innovation for the Australian workforce’ and will ‘help to attract new businesses and invest in infrastructure projects for jobs between these two levels’. This is only one of a number of measures proposed. Labor also wants to make Wages in the Commonwealth a level 5 scale which would be implemented in four states including Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. Wages in the Commonwealth will need to be increased from 6.4pm to 11.1pm on a yearly basis to address increasing public investment in education, care, childcare, infrastructure and other areas. The Wages in the Commonwealth will be increased across the board from 5% a year to 12% on an earnings-based basis and will be based around job-quality training, healthcare and home energy efficiency.
The Coalition have set out their plans for education in the Commonwealth before and we welcome these changes to the system, particularly as the costs of the Australian education system continue to expand. The changes as proposed tend to benefit all Australians on the basis of progress, rather than the perceived benefits of the system. It is encouraging to be able to tell the government that ‘we’ve made one point in which we have brought improvements in the education curriculum and delivered a new way for schools to deal with challenges’. It will also be a great opportunity to be involved in the educational process that has seen a few great outcomes for children in Victoria and Queensland – especially when the state is facing the prospect of more poverty that has been identified by the Australian Council for Child Development (ACCD).
The Government’s education plans include more funding for education and community education, further funding for ‘community workforce education’ to be used effectively by school staff and support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Indigenous children to thrive in school.
But we must also focus this on education which is increasingly important at times in Australia due to the large number of youth under the age of 18 who will need the most help when it comes to achieving their own ambitions. In many States or Territories a child is likely to start school in their individual form at any time and whilst that is certainly important it is not the primary aim of the current programs.
These proposed changes to the ‘education curriculum’ and ‘community workforce education’ will be implemented within four years, providing that the Government is committed to providing opportunities to all Australians to successfully work successfully in the workforce. By 2020 this will mean that more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Indigenous youth are required on a regular basis through the school year where they need the assistance they need most to gain the necessary skills.
Australia’s best schools
Australia has the reputation on all sides of education that it is the country that needs to make the most of the nation’s education resources. Over recent weeks we have witnessed a major change in this perception in Australia as school funding is also increasing – schools with over 1000 vacancies under the Department of Education are now more than five times as likely to be in the black hole.
We need more schools to be