
Issue No 13		14 May 1999

News

Unions Warn Carr: Bosses Can’t Veto Second Wave

The NSW Labor Council has warned the Premier that it won't accept a blanket employer veto of proposed second wave industrial relations reform.

NSW Secretary Michael Costa says the reform package is moderate and he's confident the bulk of the proposals will be acceptable to reasonable employers.

But he says he expects the Labor Government to resist any "bloody-minded" employer resistance and accept that a changing working world requires evolving regulation.

"The spread of labour hire companies and sub-contractors has created a pool of unregulated labour which is undercutting the award and bargaining streams," Costa says.

"If a Labor Government with a huge majority can't do something about these problems, there's something going wrong."

Costa's comments follows the Premier's briefing of selected journalists this week that any changes to industrial relations would require broad consensus from unions and employers.

Carr told the reporters that any change opposed by employers would need to satisfy the criteria that it would not affect investment. The Premier also revealed that Cabinet Office head Roger Wilkins had been contacting employer groups to tell them the second wave discussion paper was not official government policy.

Costa says the key reforms should satisfy the Premier's criteria on investment. "Agency fees, for instance, will have no impact on business costs," Costa says.

But he warns that if sensible reforms were opposed by ideologically based employer resistance, he would expect the government and "do the right thing by those whose interests it is the guardian."

"The Howard-Reith Government has introduced the most radical industrial relations reform in the history of this nation without even the semblance of consultation with unions. The employers have been silent in the face of this reform process.

"They can't have it both ways. They can't support on the one hand radical, unpopular reform and then cry foul in the face of reasonable, consultative change."

Costa says he'll consider taking the issue to the ALP State Conference if the government caves in to employers seeking to frustrate sensible, responsible reform.

The proposals are currently before the Industrial Relations Consultative Committee and were expected to form the basis of legislation in the first session of Parliament.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 13 contents

Interview: Really Caring
Sam Moait will be sending a message from the 48,000 nurses who she represents when she takes her seat at the Drug Summit

Unions: Kicking the Habit
The architect of a trade union drug and alcohol program has revealed his own battle with drugs motivated him to help other workers kick the habit.

History: Remembering BHP: Memory and Industrial Heritage
The announcement of the intended closure of BHP’s Newcastle steelworks heightened the awareness that industrial heritage is more than derelict sites of production.

Review: Ten Songs to Revolution
We ask Labor Council's resident music critic to name the ten songs that define the nineties.

International: Union Lifts Lid on Rio Tinto Shame File
The global campaign against mining giant Rio Tinto has been stepped up with a new report alleging abuses of human rights, environmental and safety standards.

» Unions Warn Carr: Bosses Can’t Veto Second Wave

» Labor Council Backs Harm Minimisation

» Aquilina Urged to Talk as Students Offered Teaching Jobs

» Cutting Through the Budget Crap

» LHMU Demands Y2K Protection for Workers

» Cops Eye Airport Beat

» Spanish Workers Warned on Tax Agents

» Unions to March on Journey of Healing on May 26

» NSW Young Labor Turns 50!