Senate debates

Tuesday, 23 November 2021

Statements

Workplace Relations

1:56 pm

Photo of Tony SheldonTony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Today in workplaces across Australia there are hundreds of thousands of Australians working for labour hire firms. Many are being ripped off. They're paid 24 to 40 per cent less than their directly employed colleagues doing the exact same work. Unlike Mr Morrison, who spent $500,000 of taxpayers' money in legal fees to defend this dodgy practice in the courts and who passed laws earlier this year to protect this labour hire casual rort, Labor believes this is fundamentally wrong.

Labor knows that it's at odds with the Australian principle of a fair go, so yesterday Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, introduced a bill in the House to enshrine a very basic right of law—same job, same pay. That means that, if you work for a labour hire firm, you're entitled to at least the same pay that a direct employee of the company receives for the exact same work. It ends a loophole used by companies like BHP and Qantas of using labour hire firms to undercut the pay of their own employees. It will protect workers in mining, transport, aged care, disability care, health care and manufacturing—the list goes on.

The Morrison government are fiercely opposed to this bill. They want to protect the labour hire rort. Unlike Mr Morrison and those opposite, who pretend to be on the side of workers and then come to Canberra and vote against them time and time again, Labor is standing up and fighting for working Australians. Only an Albanese Labor government will stand up for labour hire workers. Only an Albanese Labor government will put same job, same pay into law.