Issue No 96 | 18 May 2001 | |
NewsBid for Reasonable Hours to AIRC
A test case being filed in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission this week sets out to create new award guidelines for reasonable working hours. The ACTU's Reasonable Hours claim seeks to establish flexible guidelines on excessive hours of work and unhealthy roster patterns. The guidelines would be tailored to suit the requirements of individual industries. Under the application, unions will seek to have factors such as an employee's safety, family responsibilities, workload and the number of hours worked over an extended period considered in determining reasonable hours of work. ACTU President Sharan Burrow says it was time for unions, the government and employers to work together to find practical solutions that would bring balance to the lives of working families. "This debate has been growing for many months. So far, the Government and employers have stayed silent. This is a bi-partisan issue that goes to the heart of how we want to grow and prosper as a nation, and all parties should contribute to the debate," says Burrow. "The pressure to work longer, less predictable and often unpaid extra hours is stretching working families to the limit. As a community, we need to address the issue of unreasonable hours to restore some balance to our working lives. "Australia needs safe, flexible solutions. Employers know that tired workers are unsafe and unproductive. European Union nations are leading the way by introducing sensible laws that relieve the pressure on working families." Recent studies show that one in four of all Australian employees now work more than 50 hours a week, giving Australia the second-longest working hours in the OECD. The European Union has agreed to limit average weekly hours to 48, while France is cutting the limit to 35. "Unlike France, we do not want a cap on working hours. This case seeks an imaginative and flexible framework for the workplaces of the 21st Century," Burrow says.
|
Interview: The Enabler On the eve of the release of his latest book, Beazley�s brain on the back-bench, Mark Latham, talks about putting the social back into socialism. Unions: Flogged To Death One third of Australian workers now work in conditions that would be deemed illegal in Europe. While in our workplaces so much is being done by so few with so little the Howard Government leans on its shovel reports Noel Hester. Corporate: Nike's Six Broken Promises A new international report on the labour practices at Nike have placed their stated commitment to ethical employment under the microscope. International: Jagath at the Solidarity Cafe When the brave workers at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta marched on May Day, a Sydney unionist was by their side. Education: The Battle for Free Thought The recent sacking of Dr Ted Steele at the University of Wollongong has focused attention on the need for vigilant defence of employment rights and academic freedom. History: Federation and Labour The labour movement�s role in the 1897 Federal Convention and the subsequent referenda process has been largely forgotten. Satire: Addict Stops Using Smack After Talk With Parents A 21-year-old heroin addict has agreed to give up his habit after his parents told him that using drugs was wrong. Review: Rouge or Red? Mark Hebblewhite argues that the new Baz Luhrmann blockbuster isn't without its class analysis.
Notice Board View entire latest issue
|
© 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/96/news82_actu.htmlLast Modified: 15 Nov 2005 [ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ] LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW |