Budget 2021: Labor puts wage theft, sex discrimination on IR agenda

An Albanese government would legislate to criminalise wage theft and put a greater onus on employers to eliminate sex discrimination under IR reforms.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese in question time on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

An Albanese government would legislate to criminalise wage theft and put a greater onus on employers to eliminate sex discrimination under reforms to the industrial ­relations system.

Anthony Albanese used his budget reply speech to make the pledges as he seeks to push Labor’s aim to give dignity to workers.

Labor this year voted against the government’s omnibus legislation to criminalise wage theft ­because it was tied in with other industrial relations measures the party opposed. “We will make wage theft a crime,” Mr Albanese said on Thursday night. “This should have been done. It could have been done. But the Morrison government voted to remove it from their own legislation.

“An eight-year-old government behaved like an eight-year-old child and threw a tantrum. And why were they cranky? ­Because Labor and the crossbench refused to support the parts of the legislation that would cut pay.”

A report by PwC released in 2019 estimated the underpayment of workers to be about $1.35bn a year, including $320m in construction, $220m in healthcare and $180m in retail.

With workplace sexual harassment a political issue following ­allegations of rape in Parliament House, Mr Albanese said a government he leads would legislate to “make it clear” employers have a positive duty to take measures to eliminate harassment and discrimination. The recommendation was in the Respect@Work report completed last year by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins but was not adopted by the Morrison government.

The report found there was too great an onus on victims of sexual harassment to make a complaint, rather than a duty of employers to ensure there was no wrongdoing occurring.

A Labor government would draft the legislation after consultations with the Workplace Sexual Harassment Council, employers, workers, unions and legal experts. “More than a year ago, the ­government received the ­Respect@Work Report,” Mr Albanese said. “Every woman should feel safe in every workplace, including this one.

“The report recognised employers’ responsibility to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation from their businesses.

“Labor in government will work with experts, employers and unions to make sure this responsibility is clear in our law, as was recommended by the report.”

Of the 55 recommendations made in the Respect@Work report, the government agreed to 40, agreed in-principle or in-part to six, and noted nine.

When the Morrison government belatedly responded to the report last month, Ms Jenkins said she was disappointed the positive duty recommendation was ­merely “noted”. She said it would be a “missed opportunity” if the government refused to require employers to take reasonable, proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment and discrimination in workplaces.