House debates

Thursday, 10 August 2006

Questions without Notice

Workplace Relations

2:14 pm

Photo of Stephen SmithStephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and follows on from his answer to the previous question. It relates to the Lufthansa subsidiary Global Tele Sales’ AWA and his reference to the performance bonus and the Victorian Workplace Rights Advocate. I refer the minister to his statement in which he said:

The Advocate reports that there has been a reduction in the base pay offered in the AWA of between 3% to 10%.

More critically he found a bonus system had been introduced that offers up to 16% per annum—enabling employees to earn up to a net 13% increase in wages.

Photo of David HawkerDavid Hawker (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

Order! The member for Perth will come to his question.

Photo of Stephen SmithStephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | | Hansard source

Minister, isn’t it the case that the Victorian Workplace Rights Advocate actually reported:

And he concluded:

In my view this does not provide employees with the certainty they should expect ... in circumstances where their base rates of pay are being reduced and penalty rates are being reduced and/or abolished.

Why won’t the minister just admit that these employees will be worse off under the government’s wages race to the bottom?

Photo of Kevin AndrewsKevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the member for Perth for his question. If the proposition advanced by the member for Perth were correct, the reality would be that workers would not be taking up these AWAs.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting

Photo of David HawkerDavid Hawker (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

Order! The minister has the call.

Photo of Tanya PlibersekTanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | | Hansard source

Ms Plibersek interjecting

Photo of David HawkerDavid Hawker (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

Member for Sydney!

Photo of Kevin AndrewsKevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | | Hansard source

The workers at this particular business have a choice of taking this AWA or remaining on their collective agreement.

Photo of Ms Catherine KingMs Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury) Share this | | Hansard source

Ms King interjecting

Photo of David HawkerDavid Hawker (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

Order! The member for Ballarat is warned!

Photo of Kevin AndrewsKevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | | Hansard source

So what we have here is another indication from the member for Perth and the Australian Labor Party that individual Australian workers should not have the opportunity to make a choice for an industrial instrument—

Photo of Tanya PlibersekTanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | | Hansard source

Ms Plibersek interjecting

Photo of David HawkerDavid Hawker (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

The member for Sydney is warned!

Photo of Kevin AndrewsKevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | | Hansard source

that will make them better off. As I said earlier, this is the bizarre and twisted situation which the Labor Party has got itself into: it wants to rip up an industrial instrument that enables tens if not hundreds of thousands of Australian workers to actually be better off and to make a choice for that. But on top of that, if there was something so bad about these particular provisions, I am trying to remember when I heard a complaint from the member for Perth about, for example, the CFMEU and Dunlop Bedding Victoria enterprise bargaining agreement 2005—

Photo of Stephen SmithStephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr Stephen Smith interjecting

Photo of David HawkerDavid Hawker (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

Order! The member for Perth has asked his question.

Photo of Kevin AndrewsKevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | | Hansard source

which contains similar provisions to those in the Lufthansa agreement. Did I hear anything? Did anybody hear anything from the member for Perth about an agreement negotiated by the CFMEU which contains like conditions? No, nothing whatsoever. This again exposes the total hypocrisy of the Labor Party on this subject.