Andrew Murray (WA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Democrat amendments (5) and (6) on sheet 5443 together:

(5)    Schedule 1, page 68 (after line 1), after item 132, insert:

132A  Subsection 643(10)

Omit “100 employees”, substitute “20 employees”.

(6)    Schedule 1, page 68 (after line 1), after item 132, insert:

132B  Paragraph 645(5)(c)

Omit “100 employees”, substitute “20 employees”.

As you know, Mr Temporary Chairman Bartlett, we have lost the amendments that would allow all employees access to unfair dismissal under the Workplace Relations Act. We then had the amendments which would allow access to unfair dismissal provisions for all employees working in organisations with 15 employees or more, which is Labor policy. Those amendments have been lost. These amendments now set the level at which employees would have access to unfair dismissal at the 20 mark, which is the Australian Bureau of Statistics definition of a small business—a small business being below 20 employees and a medium business being above.

Question put.