Labor pushes back on union calls to change Fair Work Act

Leaders from major unions are pushing for more bargaining power to pursue industry-wide pay claims to drive up wages.

Labor has rejected a union push for more bargaining power to pursue industry-wide pay claims in a bid to drive up wages, as the opposition vows to fight the ­Coalition on living costs and sluggish wages ahead of the next federal election.

The Weekend Australian revealed on Saturday that leaders of the nation’s major unions, including the United Workers Union, the Transport Workers Union and the CFMEU want the opposition to change the Fair Work Act to give unions greater capacity to engage in multi-employer and sector-wide bargaining.

Labor’s Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers on Sunday pushed back against the union’s demands, saying the opposition was focused on curing the “cancer” of insecure work. Mr Chalmers also challenged the Coalition to bring on an election battle fought over sluggish wages growth and rising living costs.

Speaking to the ABC, Mr Chalmers said the union’s ­demands were not part of Labor’s industrial relations policy ahead of a federal election next year.

”Our policy on industrial relations is all about dealing with the cancer of insecure work, which has been undermining real wages for this government’s time in ­office. That’s our priority,” he said.

“Things like dealing with labour hire – same job, same pay. Making sure that Fair Work Australia is empowered to give people a pathway from casual, insecure jobs to permanent more secure ones. That is our priority.”

Mr Chalmers added that the opposition took suggestions by unions and employer groups “very seriously.”

Labor has committed to ­making job security an object of the Fair Work Act so it be comes a top priority for the Fair Work Commission and ensuring ­workers employed through ­labour-hire firms do not receive less pay than workers employed directly by an employer if it wins the next election.

Union leaders have argued the current system is broken and has left employees falling behind amid rising living costs while employers bank profits.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said Labor and the Morrison government needed to look at changes, arguing the current system was not fit-for-purpose or able to deliver results that Australia needed.

UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy called on Labor to undertake a review of the Fair Work Act if it won the election, saying collective bargaining had collapsed.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that wages lifted by 0.6 per cent over the three months to September, taking wages growth to 2.2 per cent over the year.

The Reserve Bank expects wages growth will rise to 2.5 per cent next year and 3 per cent by the end of 2023.

Employer groups said the union’s proposal would plague the economy with large-scale industrial action as businesses struggled with skills shortages and supply-chain disruptions.

Pressed on Labor’s tax ­agenda, Mr Chalmers said it was focused on ensuring multinational corporations paid their fair share of tax in Australia but he did not rule out further changes.

Responding to Mr Chalmers’ comments, Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar said Labor owed it to Australian families and businesses to be upfront about their tax plans.