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Tony Abbott wants to change the FWA and bring back Workchoices style laws
Tony Abbott wants to change the Fair Work Act as part of his plan to bring in Workchoices style laws which will reduce our standard of living by taking away our rights at work.
The key changes Tony Abbott is seeking to make to the FWA are as follows:
- The return of individual contracts that can take away penalty rates and cut your take home pay. These were emphatically rejected by Australians in 2007 as they resulted in the exploitation of workers. Low-skilled workers, workers in areas of high unemployment, women with caring responsibilities – are most disadvantaged in these negotiations.
- Allow workers to receive “non-monetary” benefits instead of penalty rates or overtime. A pizza restaurant worker for example could be “paid” for these rates in pizza instead!
- Take away your right to strike by allowing employers to veto industrial action. The Bill strips workers of their ability to negotiate with companies that don’t want to do a deal. This would effectively allow employers to prevent lawful industrial action by simply refusing to bargain. It puts employees in a weaker bargaining position.
- Make it harder for workers to be represented by their union at work. The Bill changes the right of entry rules for workers representatives making it harder, and sometimes impossible, to have discussion with their representatives in their own time at work.
- Allows employers to write their own Greenfields “Agreements”. The Bill allows companies such as those in mining and construction industries to simply write their own workplace agreement if they do not reach agreement with the relevant union within three months. What employer would seek to reach an agreement if they can simply get what they want after three months?
- Move Australia towards an American style system of low wages and zero conditions.
These attacks on our rights are before the Senate now. We cannot let him win.
