- by C Bartholomew
- The Guardian
- Issue #2124
Halloween may not be a firmly established tradition in Australia, but the HR Nicholls Society has decided to deliver a holiday scare to the Australian working class with its new policy platform for industrial relations. ‘The Employment Act: A Modern Blueprint for Workplace Reform’ is the name of HR Nicholls Society’s self-proclaimed “most extensive reform paper to date,” which union leaders have labelled a return to “the dark ages” for workers’ rights.
Taking aim at the Fair Work Act, the paper blames “complexity” and “excessive regulations” (aka labour rights) for slowing productivity growth. The HR Nicholls Society’s thinly veiled hatred for collective bargaining permeates the paper as they demand a return to individualised negotiations between employers and workers. Let’s be clear: individual bargaining only serves the interests of the owning class. It strips labour of its voice and enables far easier exploitation of workers. As the old song goes, “there is power in a union.”
Other aims include the abolition of awards and award pay rates to be replaced with a single, lower minimum adult wage (one of those tricky “complexities” the paper whinges about). Independent contractors, gig economy workers, road transport workers, and labour hire workers are also targeted by proposals to cut all manner of rights such as Same Job Same Pay. They want the right to strike to be abolished for anyone earning over $125,000. The Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman are also on the chopping block, while the Australian Building and Construction Commission is to be restored.
The paper also seeks the abolition of redundancy pay and seeks to redefine small businesses to weaken unfair dismissal protections for workers in firms with less than 50 employees. The society demands that penalties for employers who engage in wage theft be cut. They seek to undermine union-based superannuation by placing super regulation exclusively into the hands of legislators. They also seek to implement a ‘no disadvantage test’ for changes to employment standards, which will enable extraordinary pay cuts so long as they don’t fall under a vague definition of “disadvantage” tied to bare minimum wages and conditions.
Frankly, a discussion of every attack on workers contained within this so-called blueprint would require more space than this entire newspaper. What is important to stress, particularly in light of the newly elected governments in Queensland and the Northern Territory, are the close ties between the HR Nicholls Society and the Liberal Party. Michael Sukkar shadow Minister for Housing, NDIS, and Social Services gave a speech at the conference which unveiled this blueprint. Union leaders have called on Peter Dutton to rule out the policy changes called for in this paper. Their fears are well-founded. This blueprint represents one thing: a comprehensive assault on workers’ rights and wages.
The timing of this blueprint is also important. As attacks on the CFMEU continue, anti-union and anti-worker policy is not just a spooky story. It is a real threat being carried out against workers right now.
