Chris Ketter (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am proud to have been elected secretary of Labor's Fair Work Taskforce. This is a group of Labor senators and members of the federal parliament who are very concerned about the government's attempts to rewrite our industrial relations system, including its recent reference of the architecture of our workplace relations system, the Fair Work Act, to the Productivity Commission. The Productivity Commission has issued a draft report, and a couple of the key features of that report are recommendations to cut penalty rates and to introduce a new form of individual contract referred to as the enterprise contract. The Fair Work Taskforce, of which, as I said, I am secretary, have the job of responding to that, and we are concerned about the fact that this government seems to have an ideological fixation about our industrial relations system, irrespective of the human cost associated with the changes it is proposing to introduce.

The Fair Work Taskforce was launched in June and has already conducted hearings in Tasmania and in Victoria. Last week, it was my home state of Queensland's turn to host the Fair Work Taskforce. We visited Brisbane, where we spoke to a number of workers and their representatives and other interested parties. In addition, we took the opportunity to visit Townsville and Rockhampton to hear directly from workers in those areas. Labor established the Fair Work Taskforce because we believe that everyone, not just a select few, should have a say about the impact of the government's policies on jobs, families and communities, as well as on important workplace entitlements such as penalty rates and the minimum wage.

In the course of my contribution this afternoon I also want to touch on concerns I have about the treatment of 306 workers at BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance's at their Blackwater mine in central Queensland—in particular, their decision to outsource the work of those 306 workers.

I note that this week has been a week of milestones. For instance, on Monday we marked the second anniversary of the election of the coalition government. Yesterday was Labor Day in America and, being a former union secretary myself and having been involved in fighting for the rights of workers young and old, I can relate to what American Senator Elizabeth Warren said:

'Unions were on the front lines in the fights for the minimum wage, for social security, for Medicare and for the Voting Rights Act … Corporations and billionaires already had a powerful voice in this country. Unions made sure working people had a strong voice, too.'

Sometimes unions are the only voice for working people and working families. As secretary of Labor's Fair Work Taskforce I can say that, under this government, workers know that they cannot take even their basic rights for granted.

What is increasingly common to hear from the workers the task force have spoken to is that, if they lose their penalty rates, their kids' sport and the birthday presents will have to go. It is important to remember that Sunday penalty rates are the reason why a lot of low-paid workers can make ends meet. These workers rely on penalty rates to compensate them for missing crucial family time. Cutting penalty rates has broader implications; it has big impacts on the local economy as a whole. We heard from worker after worker that, if their penalty rates go, they worry about being able to pay for the basics, like a mortgage or electricity. These are workers who are on or just above the minimum wage, or on the award wage. They are not spending their hard-earned cash on luxury items. The decisions that they face and the battles that they are fighting are not based on the vintage of the wine they can crack open that night or whether the brie is soft enough. It is about rent, it is about food on the table and it is about whether they can afford their kid's school excursion. As I said, they say there will not be enough money for kids sport or birthday presents if this callous government has its way.

We know that we should not be surprised by this, because this is a government that condones the sacking of workers by text message. We know that this is a government that has abolished the Commonwealth Cleaning Services Guidelines, which has led to substantial wage cuts for the cleaners who clean our offices here. As I mentioned, Monday was the second anniversary of the last election and a day when the Australian people went to the ballot box, faced with a disingenuous promise from the Prime Minister that he would protect workers' pay and conditions. We have seen that that is far from the truth.

The Productivity Commission Inquiry into Australia's workplace relations system, which was ordered by this government, focuses specifically on Australian workers' penalty rates. The Productivity Commission draft report is the ammunition Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister, needs for work choices 2.0. The commission's interim report has proposed a two-tiered penalty rate system, which would cut the penalty rates of every worker in the hospitality, retail and entertainment sectors of our economy by up to 37 per cent on Sundays. The question has to be asked: why does this government think that workers in the hospitality and retail industries don't deserve penalty rates? These are industries which are the lowest paid in our country and these are the industries that the Productivity Commission has singled out for a pay cut.

The Fair Work Taskforce has been out there talking to workers and their representatives. I must say that I have been in awe after hearing some of the stories of people who are out there trying to raise a family on very low rates of pay. Yet, these are the people who are in the firing line to have their weekly income affected by changes to legislation. I was particularly struck by a young father in Rockhampton, James from Big W, who said:

Normal people can't afford life without penalty rates.

We also heard from Robyn, a grandmother and an employee of Woolworths in Rockhampton, who said:

I like to spoil my grandchildren and give them things their parents can't afford—those things would have to go if penalty rates were cut.

In Brisbane, we heard from Rebecca, a mother, who is working in a Coles store, who said:

If I lose my penalty rates I lose the ability to pay for my daughter's ballet.

The Fair Work Taskforce also heard a number of different submissions from various unions. I want to mention the Australasian Meat Industry Employees' Union, who talked about the presence of labour hire companies in the meat industry and how they threaten the conditions and entitlements of workers in the industry.

I also want to touch on the concern I have about the treatment of a number of workers at the Blackwater mine. I am very concerned that under the Abbott government we are seeing a casualisation of this industry. It was announced, without any consultation taking place between the relevant union and the company, that jobs will be outsourced. It was announced by the company prior to consultations occurring. I have had the opportunity to talk to a worker from the Blackwater mine. This person is an everyday worker, with a family. He told me that there is real concern in the local community about the flow-on implications from outsourcing the work to a labour hire company. It will have an effect on local schools and businesses in the community. He talked about the fact that the community might lose its fire brigade, because the volunteers there are workers from that mine and their futures are very uncertain. I am concerned about this. I believe that this company is not doing the right thing. I am also concerned about the implications for the local community in Blackwater.

In conclusion, on the issue of industrial relations: this is a government that will take our country down the low-wage road, whereas Labor wants to look to the future.