Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter has continued his consultative approach by today releasing two discussion papers seeking submissions on two areas of industrial relations reform.
‘Penalties paper’ – Underpayment of wages
The first discussion paper released today focuses on underpayments penalties, following a period of significant media attention surrounding high profile cases of underpayment.
The government’s intention to criminalise serious cases of underpayment will be formalised with the Minister highlighting that legislation will be introduced in the coming weeks. The legislation will criminalise the most serious forms of deliberate worker exploitation and wage underpayments and introduce significant jail terms and fines.
The Government is also considering options to strengthen the existing civil compliance and enforcement framework within the Fair Work Act 2009, to help deter other types of wage underpayments and non-compliance that do not meet the threshold of criminal conduct.
A range of reform options are outlined in the discussion paper, with submissions now being sought from all interested stakeholders to help inform any future policy changes.
The discussion paper was informed by the report of the Migrant Worker Taskforce which recommended equipping the workplace regulator, the Fair Work Ombudsman, with the necessary tools to ensure compliance with the Act and the ongoing effectiveness of Australia’s industrial relations system.
AREEA’s position
AREEA’s position on underpayment penalties, aligned to that of the broader business community, is that introducing criminal sanctions into the industrial relations system is far from ideal.
It is clear from the large numbers of employers that self report underpayment of wages that a significant proportion of non-compliance is driven by Australia’s employment laws being unnecessarily complex, in particular the industrial awards system.
AREEA’s future vision for industrial relations in Australia, as detailed in A New Horizon: Guiding Principles for the Future of Work includes a significantly simplified safety net that abolishes the awards system in favour of universal minimum standards of employment and adequate protections for those who may be in need.
Building Code
A separate discussion paper has also been released today which invites submissions on ways to improve the operation of the Building Code.
The Code aims to improve fairness, efficiency, safety and productivity and sets higher standards of conduct for businesses that wish to carry out work on Commonwealth-funded building and construction projects.
This paper focuses on ways to:
- reduce unnecessary red tape associated with compliance with the code;
- create safer and more harmonious workplaces;
- reduce unlawful activity across the building and construction industry; and
- boost productivity and grow jobs.
The discussion papers can be viewed at the Attorney-General’s Department website
Cooperative Workplaces
Submissions into the department’s discussion paper on “cooperative workplaces” – being workplace practices, techniques and initiatives which contribute to more productive and harmonious outcomes – are due at the end of this month.
On behalf of its members, AREEA is preparing a submission which explores how the regulatory framework could better support productive and harmonious workplace outcomes.
AREEA is inviting comments and input on how the IR system can assist employers and employees to improve business productivity, grow wages and reduce conflict through the promotion of workplace cooperation.
The submission will also address aspects of the current system which detract from cooperative workplace relations and instead drive parties towards adversarial interactions such as protracted bargaining, adverse action proceedings and strikes.
Much of this submission will align with AREEA’s campaign for workplace relations change during the 46th Parliamentary Term (see Pathway to Productivity) as well as draw on themes from AREEA’s future vision for work found in A New Horizon.
Members interested in contributing to the discussion papers can contact AREEA’s policy team at [email protected]
The discussion papers can be viewed at the Attorney-General’s Department website.
