Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. What steps are the government taking—and what obstacles have there been—to boost wages and to close the gender pay gap? Why are there so many loopholes that have kept wages too low?

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

r BURKE (—) (): I thank the member for Dunkley, who has been a tireless defender of working people in this parliament. There's a really simple reason why wages were kept low. That's that the previous government wanted to keep wages low. And there's a really simple way of explaining the obstacles that have presented when we've tried to get wages moving. It's that those opposite still want to keep wages low.

When we put to the parliament stronger pay equity laws, they said no; we said yes to helping low-paid, female dominated sectors get pay increases. When we put sections prohibiting sexual harassment in the 'secure jobs, better pay' bill, they said no to those provisions in the law; we said yes to safer workplaces for women and an accessible process for workers. When we put forward better access to flexible working arrangements, they voted no; we said yes to the parents and carers who need more flexible working arrangements. When we put forward legislation to ban pay secrecy clauses, one of the key drivers of the gender pay gap, what do you reckon they said?

Government members: No.

They said no, and we said yes to closing the gender pay gap. When we put forward the sunsetting of zombie agreements, they said no to that. They voted no and wanted to keep agreements from way back in the WorkChoices era valid.

Let me give you one example of what that means. The Mantle Group, up until last year, still had their workers employed on an agreement from 1999. Those opposite thought that was okay. Mantle Group had been enjoying a massive windfall of not having to pay penalty rates for 22 years, and those opposite voted no to fixing that loophole. The Fair Work Commission said:

The effect of this employer having the benefit of an agreement made in 1999, without the payment to employees of penalty rates, at least in the last decade, is a disgrace.

…   …   …

I consider it necessary for a light to be shone on these kinds of archaic agreements.

Mantle Group then went off to look for the next loophole. They had a new enterprise agreement negotiated between HR and four members of management that would then apply to the entire workforce.

We'll have more legislation this year to close loopholes. Those opposite will vote no because every loophole that drives down wages they have been determined to defend.