
Issue No 54		19 May 2000

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Unions

Reith's Laws: Just Say NO

The ACTU has called on Labor and the Democrats to reject Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith's anti-industry bargaining Workplace Relations 2000 Bill out right.

There is wide spread concern in the community that Mr Reith's laws have already swung the pendulum too far against workers.

There is no room for negotiation and compromise on Mr Reith's latest plans. At their heart these proposed laws are biased. They are in breach of international standards and will push the balance further in favour of employers.

A rushed Senate Committee and public hearings process has been designed by the Government to guillotine public debate so that these laws can be introduced on the same day as the Government's inflationary GST.

These new laws, in whatever form, will only make it harder for working Australians to maintain their standard of living in the face of rising interest rates and prices.

In the US it is legal for unions to bargain on an industry basis for agreements covering workers wages and conditions.

In Australia agreements are generally required to be with a single enterprise, and industrial action cannot lawfully be taken in support of a multi-employer agreement.

Australia is already at the bottom of the OECD ladder when it comes to bargaining rights. Now the Workplace Relations Minister, Peter Reith, wants to put Australia even further behind.

Reith Bill is designed to prohibit industrial action where workers are participating in a campaign around common claims and the Industrial Relations Commission thinks this might not encourage agreements at the workplace level.

In reality, it won't matter if the industrial action fits the definition of pattern bargaining, because the Bill also requires the Commission to stop industrial action within 48 hours of an employer making an application, unless the issues can be determined in that time.

Reith says the Bill is to defend enterprise bargaining in the face of union attempts to destroy it.

But it's not about that at all.

The Bill is simply another attempt by this Minister to load the dice in favour of employers by making it impossible for union members to campaign for better wages and conditions. Our existing laws have been criticised on a number of occasions by the International Labour Organisation on this very point, yet Mr Reith is determined to show them the finger by dragging Australia even further away from conformity with international standards.

A union which decided to campaign for GST increases would be prevented from doing so by his Bill, as would union campaigns around issues like maternity leave for long-term casuals, protection of employee entitlements or reasonable working hours.

If enterprise bargaining is to be about more than employers imposing what they want on workers, then unions must be free to develop claims and campaign around them in an industry, or throughout the workforce.

That kind of campaign is not inconsistent with enterprise bargaining, recognising, as unions do, that not all claims will succeed at all workplaces, and that conditions may be implemented in different ways, depending on the needs of the business.

Collective bargaining at any level cannot be fair or effective if workers do not have the right to take industrial action.

That doesn't mean that strikes are necessary for bargaining, but it does mean that if employers know that any industrial action will be stopped after 48 hours simply on an allegation of pattern bargaining, they are less likely to agree to workers' claims.

The gap between unionists' conditions and those of non-unionists has widened since the Howard Government was elected in 1996.

This Bill is about nothing more than driving down the working conditions of union members by making it impossible for unions to do the job of bargaining collectively.

Visit http://www.actu.asn.au to find out how you can support the union campaign against Reith's biased laws.

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Issue 54 contents

Interview: South of the Border
Victorian Trades Hall chief Leigh Hubbard on life under Bracks, militant unionism and why more people march in Melbourne.

Politics: Jeff Shaw's Second Wave
The full text of the NSW Industrial Relations Minister's speech to Labor Council announcing the Carr Government's IR reform agenda.

Unions: Reith's Laws: Just Say NO
The ACTU has called on Labor and the Democrats to reject Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith's anti-industry bargaining Workplace Relations 2000 Bill out right.

History: A Breed Of Their Own
Labour historian Greg Patmore explains what makes his fraternity tick - and why they're still going strong and making history.

International: Sony's Asian Showdown
The Japanese electronic giant Sony is threatening to shutdown production facilities in Indonesia - where a prolonged strike has cost it US$200milliom - and move to next door Malaysia where electronic workers are banned from forming a union.

Human Rights: Good Guys, Bad Guys
Everywhere we look -in our newspapers, on the television, in reports by business leaders, academics and politicians - advocacy of human rights seems to be on a collision course with governmental and business interests.

Review: New Workers, New Challenges
A new wave of thought is arguing that working life is changing - but this doesn't necessarily deal unions out the action.

Satire: Rain Man Withdraws Endorsement of Qantas
After the third major safety incident in the space of a year, Qantas has lost the confidence of the most famous public supporter of its once unblemished safety record, the autistic star of Rain Man, Raymond.

» Carr Moves on Casuals

» Democrats Wavering on Reith Bill

» Exit Visas for Child Care Workers

» GST Pay Claims to Target Allowances

» Tide Turns On Competitive Tendering

» Joy Takes Message To The World

» Mines Out as Rio Tinto Torps Talks

» Political Economy for Activists, 2000

» Unions March for Reconciliation

» STOP PRESS: AK-47s used in coup against union-aligned Fiji Labour Government