Pocock secures wins for ag in amended industrial relations bill

Senate crossbencher David Pocock has notched some wins for farmers in changes to Labor’s controversial industrial relations bill.

Independent senator David Pocock has secured a raft of concessions from the federal government including provisions that will directly benefit farmers in exchange for allowing the passage of its controversial industrial relations bill through the Senate this week.

Seasonal workers and other irregular casuals will no longer be included in the headcount of a small business, while a small businesses will now be defined as having 20 employees or more – up from 15 – and therefore exempt from single-interest multi-employer bargaining.

But the changes to the herculean 249-page Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill don’t go far enough, according to the National Farmers’ Federation, with the consequences unknown for the food supply chain.

“When push has come to shove, the government has chosen to ram through an agenda that nobody fully understands the impact of, with minimal effort to achieve consensus,” NFF president Fiona Simson said.

“What does seem clear is that this bill will add cost and complexity to the system, and potentially widen the reach of industrial disputes. This will make it harder and more costly to get food from paddock to plate.”

Senator David Pocock said the amended bill strikes the right balance between protecting the community’s most vulnerable and maintaining productivity. Picture: Gary Ramage

Ms Simson has acknowledged the work of Senator Pocock, who the lobby group has a constructive working relationship with.

Carving out seasonal workers from a small business’s employee tally was one of the concerns the NFF raised with Mr Pocock.

“I thank Senator Pocock for listening to the business community and advocating for more considered outcomes,” she said. “The idea that an influx of workers for harvest or shearing would tip a farm over the small business threshold was alarming.

“This is one of the issues that we raised with Senator Pocock, and it’s great to see this reflected in the final deal to pass the bill.”

But she warned the bill could lead to “whole segments of the food supply chain descending into multi-employer industrial disputes at once”.

The bill will introduce the most union-friendly workplace laws in decades and has been heavily criticised by the Business Council of Australia for heralding in a new era of unproven multi-employer bargaining.

Other concessions Senator Pocock has won include a new reasonable comparability threshold embedded into the common interest test designed to ensure only employees from similar businesses can band together to negotiate.

Senator Pocock said the numerous amendments to the legislation struck the right balance between ensuring people start receiving wage rises, maintaining productivity and protecting the most vulnerable.

“This is now a substantially different bill to the one introduced in the House of Representatives a month ago. It is better for business, better for workers and makes sure the most vulnerable in our community are no longer left behind,” Senator Pocock said.

“I have worked with the government to push them as far as they would go, and then a step further to ensure they addressed key concerns raised with me.”