TONY ABBOTT AND THE LIBERAL PARTY WANT TO BRING BACK WORCHOICES AND WORSE
UNDER ATTACK:
* YOUR PENALTY RATES
* YOUR HOURS OF WORK
* YOUR TAKE HOME PAY
* YOUR JOB SECURITY
In the 2007 election the harsh and unjust Workchoices legislation was a big issue.
The Liberal Party introduced individual contracts called Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) which were used to strip away basic entitlements to penalty rates, public holidays, overtime rates, tea breaks, 17 ½% leave loading, rostering protections and other conditions. Workers had their take-home pay slashed.
The Liberal Party stripped away all unfair dismissal rights for workers of small employers.
The Liberal party also stripped away most unfair dismissal rights for workers of large employers. If you were dismissed for “operational reasons” you had no protection against unfair dismissal.
Under Workchoices workers had their take-home pay slashed and lost their working conditions and their job security.
The Howard Liberal Government was rejected by the Australian voters and John Howard lost his seat in Parliament.
The Rudd Labor Government was elected with a mandate to abolish Workchoices. It legislated to abolish Workchoices and replaced it with the Fair Work Act on 1 July 2009.
LIBERAL PARTY RESURRECTS WORKCHOICES
NOW TONY ABBOTT WANTS TO BRING BACK WORKCHOICES AND WORSE
Since he was elected as Liberal Party Leader Tony Abbott has three times promised to bring back the key elements of Workchoices – when he was first elected in December 2009, in February 2010 and in his Budget reply on 13 May 2010.
INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTS SLASH YOUR WAGES AND CONDITIONS
Tony Abbott has promised that if the Liberal Party is elected this year he will bring back statutory individual contracts like AWAs. AWAs were used to slash workers take home pay and strip away working conditions such as penalty rates, public holidays, overtime rates, tea breaks, 17 ½% leave loading, rostering protections and other conditions.
This is a direct threat to your take-home pay and your working conditions.
JOB SECURITY GONE
Tony Abbott has promised that if the Liberal party is elected he will strip away all protection from unfair dismissal for workers of small employers.
You can be sure that the Liberal party will also strip away protection from unfair dismissal for workers of large employers for “operational reasons” once again.
Fourteen of our members employed by a large company were sacked one week before the Workchoices legislation was abolished. We tried to take an unfair dismissal case to the Commission. The Commission refused to even hear the matter. It said it had no power to deal with it because the employer said the reason was “operational reasons”.
This is a direct threat to your job security.
HOURS OF WORK SLASHED
In most circumstances our part time and casual members are entitled to a minimum engagement of three hours each time you go to work. This makes it worthwhile for the time and travel costs you incur. It ensures that you get decent minimum hours of work and a decent amount of pay.
Tony Abbott is promising that if the Liberal Party is elected this year he will legislate to abolish minimum periods of engagement like the three hour minimum.
This will strip away your right to a minimum three hours of work and slash your take home pay.
Your employer can call you in for half an hours work or one hour’s work. If you do not make yourself available you may be dismissed for “operational reasons” and someone else may be given your job.
Many of our members are university students who depend on their pay from their part time or casual hours of work as they juggle studies and work.
Many of our members are women working part time who depend on the pay from their part time or casual hours of work as they juggle work and family responsibilities.
This is a direct threat to your hours of work and your take-home pay.
PENALTY RATES UNDER ATTACK
In addition to AWA’s, unfair dismissals and minimum period of engagement the Liberal party is also attacking penalty rates.
On Monday 15 February deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop attacked the return of “inflexible working conditions” such as weekend penalty rates. If the Liberal Party is elected this year they have already signalled that attacking weekend penalty rates is on their agenda.
This is a direct threat to your weekend penalty rates and your take home pay.
CONCLUSION
If you do not want your hours of work slashed, your job security abolished, your take home pay slashed and your working conditions stripped off you, you will need to consider how you will vote in the Federal election later this year.
If Workchoices comes back next year we will likely never get rid of it again.
THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS
