Tony Abbott faces internal industrial relations push
TONY Abbott is being urged by his allies to commit to major workplace reform and encourage the use of individual agreements, as the Coalition's internal debate on the key election issue escalates despite fears of a political backlash.
Howard government adviser and rising Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg has reignited the industrial relations debate by calling for a crackdown on union power as well as changes to make it easier for employers and their staff to use individual contracts instead of union awards.
Declaring that "now is the opportunity for the Coalition to go on the front foot" on ways to lift productivity, Mr Frydenberg is also backing changes to limit unfair dismissal claims against the smallest employers.
The Opposition Leader has raised hopes for a more assertive Coalition stance on industrial relations by vowing to release detailed policies early in the year, as business leaders seek a clear commitment from the Coalition to dismantle elements of Labor's regime.
Liberals including Arthur Sinodinos, Jamie Briggs and Steven Ciobo back the case for greater flexibility in workplace law but have been increasingly constrained in what they can say publicly as they take on frontbench or other positions. Free of those restrictions, Mr Frydenberg is stepping up the case for major reform by citing a "productivity slump" and a spike in workplace disputes as proof that the Fair Work regime has failed to deliver on Labor's promises.
Writing in The Australian today, the Victorian Liberal MP warns that Labor's links to the union movement mean that "only the Coalition" can make the changes needed to give employers and employees more scope to negotiate individual agreements. "Now is the opportunity for the Coalition to go on the front foot and put forward proposals," Mr Frydenberg says.
He makes it clear that an early policy statement would be better than waiting until the federal election campaign.
"In doing so, the Coalition will be dealing with the 'militancy, flexibility and productivity' challenges facing Australian workplaces, strengthening our economy and advancing the interests of both employers and employees," he writes. Mr Frydenberg marks out three reform targets including scaling back unfair dismissal laws, which currently apply to employers with 15 or more staff.
While the Liberal MP does
not nominate an alternative threshold, some within the Coalition favour an increase to 20 or 25 staff so that more small businesses would gain exemptions from the unfair dismissal laws.
The second proposal is to "put the brakes on coercive union power" by not only reinstating the Australian Building and Construction Commission - a Howard government initiative to crack down on unions in that sector - but also improving union governance.
Mr Abbott has laid the groundwork for a debate on union power within weeks, tabling a notice in parliament for a private member's bill that would hold officials to account in criminal courts if they were "reckless" and failed to act in the interests of the organisation.
A wider fight is certain on the third proposal from Mr Frydenberg, which would make it more attractive for companies and their staff to sign workplace contracts - called individual flexibility arrangements in the Labor system - rather than rely on union awards. Other MPs are wary of doing so as Labor seizes on talk of individual agreements to claim an Abbott government would bring back Work Choices and AWAs, which were widely criticised in the 2007 election campaign for cutting working conditions.
In a sign of the internal differences, opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey declared last November that workplace reform was not a Coalition priority.
I could vote for this,except there have being widespread cases of employers taking on apprentices,then having used their cheap labor throwing them to the wolves,if this area could be tightened up I could vote for this,but it would have to be part of a major suite of changes,front and center being the GST increase and broadening,this is the only area which can bring an immediate increase in productivety.
