Industrial Law Changes Hidden in Budget
15 May 2003
The National Tertiary Education Industry Union (NTEU) has called upon Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott to come clean about the major changes to the Workplace Relations Act which the government has buried within its Higher Education budget statement.
In Dr. Nelson’s Budget Statement (www.backingaustraliasfuture.gov.au), he uses a rhetorical attack upon the NTEU about the alleged affect of he imposition of bans on the provision of exam results as a basis to justify major changes to the Workplace Relations Act.
According to Nelson’s paper,
“An amendment will be made to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 to amplify the power of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) to end protected industrial action, by requiring the AIRC to take particular account of the welfare of particular classes of people, that is, people who are clients of health, community services or education systems, including students”. (Section 8.2 Our Universities: Backing Australia’s Future).
NTEU General Secretary Grahame McCulloch said
“Nelson and Abbott use emotive words about results bans as a smokescreen to introduce further restrictions on the right to collective bargaining”.
“This is clearly not about results bans at all. Instead, it is about reducing the rights of over nearly two million workers in the education, health and community services industries, to take legitimate industrial action”.
“On its face, the proposal seems to end the right of nurses, teachers, public servants and many other workers to take effective protected industrial action. In the absence of a right to arbitration this would breach Australia’s obligations under ILO Conventions.”
“Dr. Nelson attempts to justify this attack on the right of 2 million workers by alleging that the occasional imposition of bans on passing results to university administrations is not ‘reasonable industrial action’. Dr. Nelson fails to mention that whenever NTEU members do take industrial action arrangements are made to exempt students who might otherwise suffer hardship.”
“Until the intervention of Ministers, Kemp, Abbott and Nelson and into higher education, enterprise bargaining was not characterised by high levels of industrial action. It has been their interference in bargaining that has made it slower and more acrimonious”.
Mr. McCulloch called on Mr. Abbott to explain the government’s intention to the Parliament and to Australian workers.
Contact:
Grahame McCulloch, General Secretary, ph. (03) 9254 1910, mobile:
0418 322 620
Ted Murphy, National Assistant
Secretary, ph. (03) 9254 1910, mobile: 0419 517 288
Ken McAlpine, National Industrial Officer, ph. (03) 9254 1910, mobile:
0418 357 499.