House debates

Wednesday, 23 November 2022

Questions without Notice

Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022

2:49 pm

Photo of Mr Tony BurkeMr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I've got to say it's a fair call. If I were the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, any time someone quoted me I'd say, 'Oh, I've been misrepresented,' because there is nothing more dangerous for the integrity and reputation of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition than her own words, and the rest of the team is following suit. I've looked at this one as well, from the member for Hughes, who we've heard from a number of times today. The member for Hughes said in the debate in this House, 'There is no evidence that these reforms will actually deliver higher wages.' Well, let's go to the architect of low wages being a deliberate design feature and let's look at what the current head of the OECD is saying about multi-employer bargaining. A 2020 OECD report said multi-employer agreements are 'necessary to negotiate targeted raises in female dominated and low-paid sectors'. A 2019 report said that multi-employer arrangements are 'associated with higher employment, lower unemployment, a better integration of vulnerable groups and less wage inequality'.

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