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Issue No. 302 | 07 April 2006 |
The Cowra Clause
Interview: Head On Unions: Do You Have a Moment? Industrial: Vital Signs Economics: Taxing Times Environment: It Ain�t Necessarily So History: Melbourne�s Hours Immigration: Opening the Floodgates Review: Pollie Fiction Poetry: The Cabal
Abattoir Boss Slaughters Andrews More Slaughter in South Australia Where The Bloody Hell Is Our Contract? Building Crusade Raids Pockets Howard's Skills Solution: Sack Apprentices Spineless Companies Block Safety
Politics Politics The Soapbox Postcard The Locker Room Obituary
Social Action French revolution Fan Mail Belly Spreads The Word All Out! Lying Lies And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them Help Wanted
Labor Council of NSW |
News Boxall in Sickie Backflip
The head of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Peter Boxall, was forced to back pedal on the policy after a memo to supervisors from the Department's Business and Policy Development Branch was leaked. "This would be an administrative nightmare," says CPSU secretary Stephen Jones. "This government talks about workplace flexibility, yet this move would strip any flexibility from frontline managers." The leaked email stated all new AWAs will now require that a medical certificate be produced for absences of one day or more, and that this will apply to existing AWA employees because "the current AWA clause already allows this to happen". Boxall denied that the policy meant employees were required to produce a medical certificate after just one day's absence. Under individual contracts supervisors have discretion to apply the policy more generously or more firmly, depending on circumstances, said Boxall, meaning that managers could ask for a medical certificate if they wanted to. The proposed new rules would strip managers of that discretion. According to DEWR's own figures, about 65% of its 3,000 employees are on AWAs. The new requirement is a significant change for the department, which previously gave supervisors discretion but generally, provided AWA employees three consecutive sick days before they had to produce a certificate. The move by DEWR contradicts assurances by both the Prime Minister John Howard and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews last year that employers would not start requiring single day certificates after Work Choices became law. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said the workplace changes which recently came into effect trivialised sick leave.
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