Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to contribute to the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022. This is an area that I'm extremely passionate about, and the types of issues that are being addressed in this bill are what led me to put my hand up to be elected to this parliament.

The Labor Party is a party for the workers, the everyday Australians; we care about workers because workers make this country what it is. The people of Hunter are hard working; they deserve a government that delivers for them and looks after their rights at work. They deserve a government that will fight to increase their wages so they can afford the simple things in life. That's what our government is doing, and that's what this bill is introducing.

In September the Prime Minister and Treasurer got everyone in a room—employers, employees, business groups and unions—and had a discussion at the Jobs and Skills Summit. The summit was a success and established a sensible solution to issues that workers and businesses are facing and offered us a way forward. Today, we want to implement these changes. In my electorate of Hunter, I held my own round tables with local businesses and community representatives and I heard from many workers throughout the Hunter. I heard the same stories: wages aren't moving and it's hard to get workers in the jobs that need them; the rapid casualisation of our workforce and the issues associated with the quality of care in the service provision sectors.

This bill will do exactly as it says in the title: make jobs more secure and better paid. And it will make the system fairer. By introducing these changes, what our government is doing is promoting job security, helping to close the gender pay gap, modernising the workplace bargaining system and, importantly, getting wages moving again.

Can you hear that, Mr Speaker? I can hear those opposite getting out their dictionaries and flicking through the pages, trying figuring out what a wage rise actually means. A proper wage rise under the former government in the last decade has been rarer than a Tasmanian tiger. Or maybe I'm mistake; maybe those opposite do know what a wage rise is, because they've worked hard to prevent one from occurring. They deliberately kept wages low and they encouraged insecure work. They held workers back and made our country fall behind. Australia's workplace relations system is not working for employees and it's certainly not working for employers. Our country is build on the idea of a fair go, and, currently, workers aren't getting a fair go at all.

Our country is renowned for its productivity. We've always been punching above our weight, as some say. But, at the moment, employers aren't seeing a rise in productivity at all. We want to fix this. In Australia, unfortunately, your experience in the workplace seems to have a lot to do with what gender you are. It's the hardworking women of this country who are often most disadvantaged, and this is not acceptable at all. I want my two girls to walk into any future workplace and know that they are receiving the same pay and the same rights as any man working in that same industry. But right now this is simply not the reality. The gender pay gap is at 14.1 per cent, sexual harassment in the workplace is rampant, and work just isn't flexible enough. The bill will change this by putting gender equity at the heart of the Fair Work Commission's decision-making, boosting the commission's gender pay gap expertise, banning pay secrecy clauses, expanding access to flexible working arrangements and prohibiting sexual harassment in the Fair Work Act.

Job security in this country has been an issue plaguing the Australian workforce for far too long. Australian workers trying to provide for their families have been going to work day in, day out, not knowing how much longer they will hold their jobs, knowing that, if they wake up the next day feeling unwell, they won't have the sick leave to cover them, and knowing that there is not much they can do about it. Australians deserve better, and we're delivering better. We are placing new limits on rolling fixed-term contracts so workers can't effectively be put on an endless probation period. This gives certainty to Australian workers, and it's just common sense that, when a worker is certain about the future, they're more likely to be able to give their all in the workplace, which is great for the employers.

We're also protecting workers. We're increasing workers' ability to recover unpaid entitlements under the Fair Work small claims systems, because workers should be paid properly and, when they're not, they deserve to receive all the money that they are owed, no matter what the amount is. Bargaining is a powerful tool for employees, and it is also important that they are able to use this tool to fight for better wages and conditions in the workplace. It's important for business too, as it helps increase productivity in the workplace. I previously managed a workplace with over 70 employees and I know the importance of good wages and good conditions. I saw firsthand how it helps business and productivity when employees are happy and comfortable in their work environment. But at the moment having the right to bargain for your pay and conditions seems to be rare, with only 14.7 per cent of Australians covered by an in term agreement. The bargaining system is outdated. After a decade of mismanagement by the previous government, who did not care and will never care about real workers, it needs to be modernised, and that is exactly what we're doing.

With this bill, we're expanding access to enterprise bargaining and multi-employer bargaining. We aren't creating new systems of bargaining. We're varying the existing systems to make them more workable and to get wages moving again. We're also making changes to the better off overall test, or as I like to call it 'the BOOT'. We're making sure that it's simple, flexible and fair. Bargaining is a positive thing for employees and employers, so it makes sense to make it a lot easier to start the bargaining process. This will lead to better outcomes for all involved and it will be another factor which helps in getting wages moving for those who are low paid.

Labor established the Fair Work Commission in 2009 and it has been an important part for workers, helping to give them a voice in standing up for their rights. But we know that sometimes disputes can be complex and run over a long period of time. To help in resolving these difficult, long-running disputes this bill will give the Fair Work Commissioner new powers. Our aim is simple: we want a strong economy that delivers for Australia and leaves nobody behind, we want more secure jobs with fair pay and better conditions and we want more workers to be in these jobs. At the very core of our motivations, we want to see more Australians living a better life and more businesses thriving into the future. Business groups and unions agree that these changes are important. I hope those opposite will be sensible and cooperative and support this bill.

Australians know that our industrial relations system is broken and Australians know that it was those opposite who broke it. That's why we were elected in May and that's why we're getting on with the job of making life better for all Australians. We're fighting to increase wages and conditions and we're not leaving anyone behind. For those opposite, for those who oppose changes that benefit workers and employees alike, I have news for you: there's more to come. We won't stop until we've delivered on all of our commitments to fix the mess that we were left with. We won't stop until every worker in this country has the wages and conditions that they deserve.

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