With more than 12,500 working Australians having already lost their jobs in the resources sector over the past three months alone, union leaders are being urged to be responsible and constrain their demands on employers in the mining and construction sectors under the new workplace relations scheme which starts today.
AREEA CEO, Steve Knott, said the move to the new Fair Work Australia regime should not be exploited by overzealous union activities which attempted to test out the new laws and test the powers of what unions can now get away with.
“Such an approach would be grossly irresponsible, and would potentially jeopardise the jobs of thousands of hard working Australians.”
“Across the entire resources sector we are seeing companies working with their employees to overcome the dual challenges of declining commodity prices and the global credit crisis.”
“This collaborative and cooperative approach needs to be allowed to continue if we are to see investment levels in the sector return to their previous levels and protect the jobs of hundreds of thousands of working Australians and their families.”
Mr Knott said the success of the transition to Fair Work Australia would be measured in the future by a number of means, including:
1. Ongoing increases in productivity
2. Increased job creation as well as existing job retention
3. Low levels of industrial disputation
4. No further increase of lawlessness and intimidation on resource sector construction sites
5. No wage breakouts
6. No union turf wars
7. Retention of previous flexibility, with no increase in costs
8. Protection of workers and employers from lawlessness and intimidation.
“Employers across the resources sector are simply calling for a “fair go” when it comes to working with their employees under the new industrial relations laws – one where we don’t see a return to the bad old days of standover tactics, intimidation and threats”
“That’s not what Australia needs right now, and it’s not what thousands of working Australians need either.”
ENDS
Download AREEA Media Release here
