Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022.

I know that those opposite just don't get it, that Australian workers have had to deal with insecure work and having their wages held back for far too long. It's not knowing if you'll get enough shifts to pay the rent and nervously waiting on the end of the phone or an app to find out. It's not being able to plan ahead for child care for children, not knowing whether you'll be able to provide care and support for your elderly parents, and not being sure if your temporary contract will be renewed. Workers have seen their wages and conditions slowly eroded. We know that under the previous government wages were deliberately kept low and secure work was rampant.

The Labor Party has always fought for Australian workers, and it won't stop. It is in our DNA and it is a core value of each and every one of us, and that is what this bill is about—our government standing up for workers after wages and conditions have deteriorated. This bill is the first step of the Albanese Labor government's workplace relations reforms. By amending the Fair Work Act with improved job security and gender equity, we will deliver across three main themes: improving workplace conditions and protections, boosting bargaining, and restoring fairness and integrity to fair work institutions. The Fair Work Act needs to do better at living up to its name. We know this, unions and workers know this, and business understands this too. This bill delivers on a number of election commitments that Labor made, and it also acts on a range of outcomes from the Jobs and Skills Summit.

Our approach reflects our history and our values, enabling working people and their unions to better advocate for better pay and conditions and improving the capacity of businesses and employees to reach mutually beneficial agreements. Labor understands that the economy is driven by working Australians, and they deserve stronger wages growth and secure jobs.

We are improving gender equity by allowing workers to discuss pay with their colleagues and empowering the Fair Work Commission to order pay increases for workers in low-paid, female dominated industries, such as the care sector. We are also improving job security by enshrining it as an objective of the Fair Work Act. This sends a clear message on the importance of job security in the workplace relations system. The Fair Work Commission will also be required to factor in job security when performing its functions, such as when they're updating modern awards. To stop endlessly rolling fixed-term contracts, we are delivering on our election commitment to limit the use of these contracts beyond two years or two consecutive contracts, whichever is shorter. Exemptions will apply when genuinely necessary and appropriate.

We are implementing an outcome of the Jobs and Skills Summit to provide Australians with stronger access to flexible working arrangements. We are also introducing a new prohibition of sexual harassment in the Fair Work Act, including a new dispute resolution mechanism. This is in line with recommendation 28 of the Respect@Work report, and it helps protect Australian workers. We are also extending protections against workplace discrimination by adding breastfeeding, gender identity and intersex status to the list of prohibited characteristics in the Fair Work Act. We are deterring underpayments by prohibiting employers from advertising jobs with rates of pay that breach the Fair Work Act. Additionally, we are amending the small claims process to support the recovery of underpayment, and we will progress separate legislation that will finally make wage theft a criminal offence. Arthur Rorris from the South Coast Labor Council in my electorate was instrumental in exposing wage theft in the Illawarra.

We know the current system isn't working. Only 14 per cent of workers are on in-date enterprise agreements, and workers who on these agreements earn more than those on award rates. Businesses also enjoy more flexibility and productivity with enterprise agreements, but currently these are less available to small and medium sized businesses. This bill makes important improvements to increase of uptake of enterprise agreements seeking to drive up wages and productivity. We want to ensure that there are greater options for workers and employers seeking to create an agreement. To free up these negotiations, we are removing unnecessary limitations on access to single and multi-employer bargaining agreements.

We also want to ensure that enterprise bargaining is conducted in good faith. Negotiations can undoubtedly become heated and passionate. I know this, as I have been involved in negotiations from an employee's perspective here in this building. There are competing demands and ideas about what is best for the organisation and conflicting perceptions about how much workers are entitled to and how much employers can afford. These robust negotiations are to be expected. It is part of the process, and it is why enterprise bargaining is so important, but it has to be fair. Conversations and debate are formalised, with both parties understanding the rules and procedures. However, there are certain tactics that go beyond what is reasonable.

The threat of termination of an enterprise agreement during enterprise bargaining negotiations is unethical and wrong. It undermines the spirit of the entire process. When agreements are terminated, employees can be forced back onto the modern award, with less pay and fewer conditions. This can be used as a tactic to threaten workers who are trying to pursue improvements to the agreement or even just trying to hold on to what they have. We've certainly seen that here.

To eliminate the potential abuse of this process, we are introducing new limits on the circumstances under which the Fair Work Commission may approve applications to terminate enterprise agreements. These changes are specifically designed to prevent the undermining of bargaining processes or to reduce employees' pay and conditions. The bargaining process is involved, and it has strict procedures and rules that must be followed. For larger organisations that can afford industrial relations specialists, this is less of an issue. But we know that to increase the rate of enterprise bargaining we need to support small and medium-size businesses to engage in the process.

That is why we have committed to supporting the Fair Work Commission with $8.9 million over three years to increase its capacity to help employers and employees reach mutually beneficial arrangements. This will help to provide the support that businesses need. This funding builds on our government's investments in the Fair Work Commission, which will enable it to play a greater role in Australia's workplace relations.

The Fair Work Commission will also be enhanced by the creation of two new expert panels, the Pay Equity Expert Panel and the Care and Community Sector Panel. Additionally, a specialised research unit will improve the commission's capacity to assess pay equity claims and help address workforce challenges. By establishing these panels, we are ensuring that the Fair Work Commission has the specific expertise it needs to deliver pay equity—expertise that will reflect the lived experiences of our early childhood educators and of our aged-care and disability support workers. And to make it easier for the Fair Work Commission to order pay increases for workers in these industries, we are creating a statutory equal remuneration principle. This principle will remove the need for a male comparator in order to progress equal pay claims, which is a major barrier in Australia's highly gender segregated workforce. It will also ensure that gender based assumptions are not considered when assessing work value.

The measures introduced in this bill are urgent and they are vital to modernising our bargaining system and getting wages moving again, because wage growth will not happen automatically. Understandably, there has been a lot of interest in the bill, and the government has consulted closely with business groups, unions and experts, particularly over the last week but also with our Jobs and Skills Summits held across the country. They've led to some constructive amendments and addressed concerns around bargaining and the better off overall test. They are also giving businesses 12 months to adjust to the fixed-term contract changes. These are sensible improvements to the bill's implementation.

These are just some of the changes that the Albanese Labor government is legislating to make our workplaces fairer for Australian workers, to help wage growth and improve job security. Last week, after advocacy by unions, the sector and the Albanese Labor government, the Fair Work Commission made an interim decision for an increase to minimum wages of at least 15 per cent for aged-care workers in direct-care roles on a number of different awards. This is on top of the 5.2 per cent increase to the minimum wage in July. We are delivering cheaper child care and cheaper medicines. We are increasing paid parental leave. And with this bill we are helping to get wages moving and promoting secure jobs.

I am proud to be part of a Labor government that is delivering for working Australians. Australian workers deserve fair pay and conditions and they deserve a system that works for them. That is why I wholeheartedly commend the bill to the House. Thank you.

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