ACTU boss Sally McManus’ push for gig economy minimum wage doing ‘more harm than good’
SHOULD workers in the so-called ‘gig economy’ such as Uber drivers be guaranteed a minimum wage? The ACTU is pushing for it but a Liberal MP says it will do the economy more harm than good.
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UBER drivers and other “gig economy” workers shouldn’t get a minimum wage because it will do the Australian economy “more harm than good,” a government backbencher says.
Liberal MP Craig Kelly has slammed union boss Sally McManus’ push for rights for gig economy workers at her major speech in Canberra today.
“I understand she’s passionate about the workers, but the thing she does not understand, as soon as you take away those incentives, as soon as you get the government involved, setting minimum levels of rates of pay, you discourage employment growth,” he told Sky News today.
“You’re actually causing more harm than you are doing good.”
The Australian Council of Trade Unions’ secretary had called for the gig economy workers’ rights as part of a wider overhaul of Australia’s workplace relations laws, saying: “All working people should have equal rights.”
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There have been concerns the union push could see prices “skyrocket” for services such as UberEats, Foodora and Deliveroo.
Uber has also warned it would undermine flexible work arrangements for those who turn to the service because they need extra cash.
“We’re not seeking to take away a lot of flexibility that would come through working in app driven technology,” Ms McManus told the National Press Club today.
“We are not seeking to take away the technology, the technology is great.
“We want to ensure any worker will at least get minimum wage — we can’t be in a situation where technology evolves and workplace laws don’t adapt to make sure all people get basic working rights.”
Under the union proposal, minimum hourly wages of $24 for drivers would be set.
The Transport Workers Union and the Australian Workers’ Union will take the proposal to the Labor national conference in July.
Under the plan, services would also have to offer superannuation and a minimum numbers of hours per shift.
Ms McManus did not outline how the rights would be implemented across the gig economy.
“Once you agree with the principle it’s a matter of sitting down and working it out,” she said.
In her speech today, Ms McManus also called for a clear definition of casual work in Australian law, along with a major overhaul of labour hire, a shift in Commonwealth procurement rules and an end to the uncapped temporary working visa program.
“Casual employees who have worked on a regular basis for six months, deserve the right to choose to convert to permanent work,” Ms McManus said.
She also said called for a national labour hire licensing system to ensure companies do not cut wages and conditions.
“Labour hire companies simply rent out workers for lower pay and less job security. It’s got to stop,” she said.
On temporary work visas, she said they had to have strong protections against abuse and only be used for genuine shortages.
Ms McManus was more measured in her comments when asked about how far union members should go in their protest action after the controversy over her remarks last year.
She told the ABC in her first week in the ACTU role: “It shouldn’t be so hard for workers in our country to take industrial action.
“I believe in the rule of law where the law is fair and right but when it’s unjust, I don’t think there’s a problem with breaking it.”
Today she said the union would do “everything we can to change the law”.
“We fundamentally believe that working people have a right to withdraw their labour as a last resort and our laws are really out of step for the rest of the world and we want them to align with the rest of the developed world standards.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull again criticised her rhetoric, saying she “doesn’t believe in obeying the law”.
“The industrial laws she is complaining about were passed by the previous Labor government, she’s complaining about the Fair Work Act and the Fair Work Commission,” he said.
“She doesn’t want to abide by laws Labor governments have enacted.
“That gives you a very big insight into what a Bill Shorten government would be like.
“He would lead, were he ever to be Prime Minister, the most left-wing, union dominated, militant Labor government we have seen for generations.”
Charles Cameron, chief executive of the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association of Australia and New Zealand, said the ACTU was throwing the labour hire industry under the bus in an attempt to boost its own declining numbers.
He rejected Ms McManus’s claims that labour hire workers did not receive the same entitlements as other workers.
“Labour hire workers are employees and receive the same employment entitlements as traditional employees,” he said. “This includes award pay rates, penalty rates, shift loadings, allowances, superannuation, workers compensation and long service leave.”
He said unions didn’t like labour hire because it made it harder to recruit and organise membership.
“Unions blame labour hire for declining membership levels rather than the fact that most Australians are happy to work flexibly and don’t see union membership as personally relevant or valuable,” he said.