Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to rise to speak on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023. From the previous speaker, you get a taste of where those opposite come from. You get a taste of what drives those opposite. There has never been a wage increase for Australian workers that those opposite have supported, and there never will be. When the Prime Minister said that we should lift the wages of those workers on the minimum wage, they went bananas. Just like we saw from the previous speaker, those opposite have never supported wage increases or a safer workplace or any of the hard-fought gains that are there to protect Australian workers that the Australian Labor Party fought for and earned in collaboration with the hardworking people of this country. There has never been an industrial relations measure that the Liberal Party have put forward where they have stood shoulder to shoulder with the working people of Australia. It's not in their DNA. Everything has been fought against by the Liberals and the National Party. Everything has been fought against by those opposite, and everything has been put forward by those people on the Labor side of the House. This bill is no exception. This bill is another example.

There are loopholes out there that affect the hardworking people of Australia, loopholes that those opposite didn't mention in their contributions, loopholes that are allowing companies, after making enterprise bargaining agreements, to push them aside and undercut the pay and conditions of workers. This bill is designed to stop some of those things. It's also designed to support those workers in the gig economy, a completely unregulated environment, something that the previous speaker didn't even touch on but something that I'm going to go through in my contribution.

Let me start by saying this clearly, unequivocally and proudly: we in the Labor Party are proud to stand with the hardworking people of Australia, we're proud to stand with our colleagues in the union movement and we're proud to stand and work collaboratively with the business community of Australia, because we know that, when unions, business and government are all working together, they can get the best outcomes. That is our objective, unlike those opposite, who want to shut out the workers of this country. That is not our philosophy and that is not our approach. Our approach is to bring workers with us and support the working men and women of our great country.

We were elected on a promise to get wages moving, and that is exactly what we are doing. The legislative reforms that we are presenting encompass four main elements: closing the labour hire loophole, criminalising wage theft, properly defining casual work and ensuring gig economy workers are not exploited. These reforms are not radical; far from it. These reforms are about making the current law work more effectively and they're about ensuring that workers are paid fairly for the time that they operate for the businesses that they work for.

Let's go into some of these reforms. The first one concerns casual employment. Casual employment works for many Australians, and it does play a vital role within our workplaces. However, there exists a clear loophole when someone is classified as a casual on their payslip or contract but essentially functions as a permanent worker. These individuals follow permanent work schedules, accept shifts as permanent workers do and anticipate ongoing employment without a fixed end date. Now in such cases it's only fair that these workers have the option to choose secure, permanent employment if they wish.

The ability to label someone as a casual employee against their preference, despite performing duties similar to permanent employees, is an unjust loophole and we are committed to closing it. The core definition of a casual worker will remain unchanged: someone without a 'firm advance commitment' to ongoing and indefinite work. However, this legislation empowers employees and employers to assess the actual working conditions, moving beyond what's stated in the contract. If an employee believes they no longer meet the casual definition, they can notify their employer of their desire to transition to permanent status.

And to provide business with certainty, casual employees will remain as such unless they actively opt for a different status. Importantly, if an employee chooses to become permanent, there will be no backpay obligations. While most eligible casual workers may opt to retain their loading, there are those who depend on their job to support their household and seek the security of permanent employment. Rent and bills are not casual, and they need an ongoing and more reliable option.

To ensure fair resolution in the case of disputes, the Fair Work Commission will have the authority to intervene, including through arbitration as a last resort or in exceptional situations. This measure aims to prevent employers from intentionally and unfairly misrepresenting employees status as casual when, in reality, they should be considered permanent.

We know that labour hire plays a vital role in providing specialised and surge workforces; however, the loophole that allows companies to use labour hire to undercut existing wage agreements is very concerning. This practice undermines the agreements that have already been made with workers, and we're determined to close this loophole. Our proposed legislation empowers the Fair Work Commission to make orders that require labour hire employees to be paid at least the wage stipulated in a host's enterprise agreement. This measure aligns with our commitment to same job, same pay and ensures that workers receive the agreed-upon rates of pay regardless of their employment arrangement.

There are also minimum standards for employee-like workers, and I'm referring to those in the gig economy. The gig economy has completely revolutionised the way people work, offering flexibility for many. However, this flexibility should not come at the cost of exploitation or unsafe working conditions. Our government is extending the powers of the Fair Work Commission to protect employee-like forms of work, including gig workers, from exploitation and dangerous conditions. This will allow the Fair Work Commission to establish minimum standards for new forms of work, ensuring that gig workers are not paid less than they would be as employees. People who are working in the gig economy should not be paid less than the minimum wage. It is essential to clarify that we are not trying to force gig workers into employment. We respect their choice for flexibility; however, we don't accept a situation where 21st century technology is accompanied by 19th century conditions.

Finally, I want to touch on one other really important part of this legislation, and that is the support of survivors of family and domestic violence. I know some of my colleagues have spoken to this, and I would like to add my support. This bill will make sure that employees dealing with family and domestic violence don't face discrimination at work. I was proud to work with those across the parliament and proud to stand in this place when this government introduced legislation for 10 days paid leave for family and domestic violence situations. This legislation commenced on 1 February. This was an important reform for victims and survivors.

No person should have to choose between employment and leaving an abusive relationship, and today's legislation takes this one step further. Today's legislation, which those opposite are apparently opposing, ensures that workers won't face any repercussions for disclosing their experiences with family and domestic violence. Violence doesn't discriminate and neither should the law. This bill is an important reform, and I am hopeful that every member of this House will be committed to ensuring that a person who comes to their workplace and talks about the fact that they are in a position where they are facing the most unimaginable circumstances at home are not discriminated against.

This is an important package of reforms. It is an important package of reforms that says to someone that, if you are in a company for an extended period of time and you are essentially working as a permanent employee, you deserve the opportunity to have a pathway to permanency. If you choose to remain on casual employee status then that is entirely a matter for you. That is fine because that comes with loading and comes with some of the flexibility that some people choose, depending on the circumstance in their life. But what we know about the experience of too many people in the Australian workforce is that the opposite is true, that people are overwhelmingly not choosing to stay on as casual employees, but they are stuck in a position where they can't choose to get a permanent employment situation. They're in a position where they can't choose to have all of the other entitlements and benefits that come with ongoing permanent employment. Many people in Australia are locked in a position where permanent employment isn't a possibility for them, and we on this side of the House say that we want to change that. We want to make sure that those workers who want a pathway to permanency, to give themselves and their families that certainty, have that choice.

This bill also goes to the fact that, for companies who agree to pay their workers an amount in accordance with their enterprise bargaining agreement, those companies are not then able to find a loophole that allows them to undercut those arrangements. We want to make sure that, once they've agreed upon a set of pay and conditions, they cannot find, through ongoing labour hire arrangements, the ability to get people to do the exact same job but for less money and with less favourable conditions. That is unacceptable, and we seek to change that so that workers who have an agreed position with their employer via an enterprise bargaining agreement, get what they deserve and get what they bargained for. I reiterate that I don't think—and I don't want to generalise—that there would be any member of this place that hasn't at some stage benefited from or sought the services of those people in our gig economy. Especially during a pandemic, those people working in the gig economy turned up to work and made sure that food and other essential items were delivered to people in their homes. They kept turning up to work, and the least that we can do, as people in this place, is to have their back and to empower the Fair Work Commission to make determinations about what the minimum standards are for the people who at times risk their lives and at times have lost their lives working in the gig economy.

I want to take this moment to recognise the tireless advocacy of the Transport Workers Union who have fought for this reform for years. They have fought for their members and for those people who have lost their lives at work. We absolutely unequivocally say that no-one should lose their life at work, but we know that the conditions of those people in the gig economy are not up to scratch. This is an important set of reforms that will enable the closing of a range of loopholes. These reforms say to people that, if you want a pathway to permanency, it will be possible. They say to those people that, if you have bargained for an agreed set of pay and conditions, that will be honoured. It is an important set of reforms that says that, if you are a gig economy worker, you will be protected and have minimum standards at work. It is an important set of reforms that also says that, if you are experiencing the worst form of violence or family and domestic violence at home, you will not be discriminated against at work.

If those opposite want to come in here and defend one of those propositions, then let them. But we on this side of the House proudly stand by our record on industrial relations reform. We proudly stand by the fact that each and every hard-fought gain in workplaces for the pay and conditions of Australian workers was led by the mighty Australian Labor Party in partnership with the Australian trade union movement and in partnership with the hardworking men and women who have made our country everything it is. This is an important set of reforms. It says to our workers, the hardworking people that make our economy tick: you are worth it, you are valued and you deserve the pay and conditions that befit the Australian people. I commend the bill to the House.

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