Gutted workplace laws pass Senate, but Centre Alliance team divided over reforms
Gutted workplace laws have passed the Senate after most of the controversial reforms were dumped – but it’s sparked division in SA’s Centre Alliance team.
SA News
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South Australia’s Centre Alliance team is openly divided over new workplace laws, which passed the Senate today after the Federal Government gutted its own controversial reforms.
Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie has issued a statement saying her Centre Alliance colleague Stirling Griff voted for the reforms “in a manner that I do not support”.
New rights for casual workers passed, but the government has scrapped its plans for major reforms to tackle wage theft, enterprise bargaining, award simplification, and pay deals that cover big, long-term projects.
Casual workers will now get the right to be offered a full-time or part-time job after 12 months, or challenge an employer’s decision in the small claims court if their employer refuses to make the offer.
A definition of “casual worker” will also be inserted into the Fair Work Act after the business community warned it could be hit with massive backpay claims from casual workers.
“I cannot support a package that doesn’t include wage theft provisions for workers,” Ms Sharkie said, immediately after it passed.
“Where this landed is totally unacceptable.”
Senator Griff responded by saying the party’s rules allow for its MPs to vote in a different way if they wish.
But he also said it was “utterly shameful” for the Morrison Government to remove their own provisions to stop wage theft.
“They deserve every bit of the eventual campaign they will get against them for stripping this important provision out,” he said.
Senator Griff said he had been “successful in killing off the punitive elements of this bill” while “retaining certainty for employees on what constitutes casual employment and sorting the potential for double dipping claims that had the potential to significantly hurt small business”.
The government gutted the bill after Centre Alliance this morning said it would only support reforms on casual workers and wage theft.
Ms Sharkie had said in a statement she and Senator Griff had agreed that they would only back the wage theft and casuals reforms, and “only if both the business community and the unions were in agreement.”
Centre Alliance had supported amendments proposed and agreed on by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), she said.
“The Government’s decision not to support an agreement by COSBOA and the unions was completely wrong so I categorically will not be supporting an amended bill in my chamber,” she said.
Earlier, Scott Morrison expressed his frustration the Senate intended to block most of the reforms he believed were important to transforming industrial relations laws to get more Australians back into jobs.
But the Prime Minister said he was a “practical person” and look at other “job-making initiatives”.
“If this Senate is saying they don’t wish to support those measures, then we will have to consider that in terms of how we go forward,” Mr Morrison said.
Labor frontbencher Penny Wong blasted government senators for rushing the gutted bill through and taking up time with a filibuster until a vote at 1pm.
She accused them of being a “government in crisis, trying to ram this legislation through in 20 minutes” and “trying to salvage some pride by passing a bill that, on your own admission, you’re going to gut because you haven’t got the numbers.”
Senator Griff announced his decision to only back reforms regarding wage theft and casuals this morning, and to block the rest of the bill.
“This is a complex and contentious bill, and we recognise that attempting detailed amendments to the remaining parts of the bill runs the risk of unintended consequences for employees and employers,” Senator Griff said.
During the debate, he criticised the government for not going ahead with penalties for wage theft.
Independent senator Rex Patrick, who did not back the plan in its original form, said this morning the Government’s handling of the bill had “been a shambles”.
“If they don’t get it passed in the Senate or it gets voted down, it will be their own fault,” he said.
“They brought on the debate on Tuesday without having the numbers and that has resulted in the situation we are in today – with the Government scrambling to negotiate with crossbenchers who have already expressed deep reservations about the bill.
“To contribute to the chaos, the Government is asking those crossbenchers to digest and consider a number of amendments to the bill that One Nation introduced only last night.
“To add to their woes, they have to deal with JobSeeker today.”
One Nation announced its support for the bill yesterday.
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